EDDIE Howe has hailed Newcastle United's "unrivalled" supporters and has a message for the fans ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Southampton at St James' Park next week: "Same again".
Southampton boss Nathan Jones knows his side are going to be up against the fans as well as the 11 Newcastle players on the pitch at what he described as "one of the cathedrals of English football" in next Tuesday's return fixture.
Newcastle are in a commanding position having won the first leg at St Mary's this week but Howe is taking nothing for granted and, with no game this weekend after being knocked out of the FA Cup at Sheffield Wednesday, the head coach's focus is purely on the Southampton second leg - though obviously there's the small matter of transfers to deal with as well.
Howe says he will ensure his players are in the "best frame of mind", with Newcastle just 90 minutes away from Wembley, where Manchester United would be the likely opponents after they swatted aside Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the first leg at the City Ground on Tuesday night.
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Howe was blown away by the Toon support on the road at St Mary's - and now has a message for the fans ahead of the second leg.
“I think (the message) to the supporters is ‘same again'," he says.
"Their support for us at home has been incredible. It’ll be the same again. I don’t think they have to do anything different to what they’ve done, and the away support we had (at St Mary's) was a great thing to see.
"There were a few supporters left in the stand at the end when I went out singing. The support and passion for Newcastle is unrivalled. It’ll be great to experience the atmosphere in the next game. But we need to make sure we use it in the right way, and channel it.”
Howe added: “My mind’s already on next week, and the challenges we face going into the game and how we can get the players in the best frame of mind to play well. Any thought of anything else away from the game can wait. I think it’s about the next game, and make sure we play well.”
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