EDDIE HOWE admits that Allan Saint-Maximin needs to build his confidence back up after his lengthy absence from Newcastle United’s starting side – and is confident the Frenchman will benefit from his run-out in today’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Saint-Maximin made his first league start since late August as Howe shuffled his pack in the absence of the suspended Bruno Guimaraes, but was unable to make much of an impact as Newcastle were held by the Hammers.

The winger looked understandably rusty as he returned to the starting side, with Howe admitting it could take a little while for him to get back to his best.

The Newcastle boss said: “I think every player needs confidence. Maxi will benefit from today. I thought we saw him in flashes.

“We probably didn’t get him the ball enough, West Ham defended well against him. I think there’s a combination of factors, but I thought the application and effort were there. He’ll benefit from today.”

Newcastle missed Guimaraes’ controlling presence at the heart of midfield, with Declan Rice running the game for West Ham as he dominated the central area.

Howe said: “I think we missed Bruno today, but we were always going to miss Bruno because he’s so unique and slightly different. But I do think our midfield players who played in his absence all played well. I don’t think it’s a criticism of them – I just think he’s irreplaceable.

“You’re going to miss him, and I think we missed his creative eye more than anything else. It was a great start for us, but we just didn’t build on that great start and that was the disappointing thing. We allowed West Ham back into the game and probably got punished for that.”