EDDIE Howe has hit back at "overblown" criticism of Newcastle United's game management, as Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag took another swipe at the Magpies.

Ahead of the Carabao Cup final, ten Hag described Newcastle as "annoying" and has had another dig before his side's trip to St James' Park on Sunday.

This time, he's accused Newcastle of deliberately trying to disrupt and slow games down and has called on Sunday's referee Stuart Attwell to let the match flow.

He said: "Concern. We know they delay, yeah. It's something that is what the referees don't want, they want to have tempo in the game.

"That is the aim of the Premier League to have tempo in the game. So they (referees) also have to be consistent to let the game go. Do and act what the policy is."

Earlier in the day, Howe had been asked about ten Hag's February dig ahead of the Carabao Cup final.

The Newcastle boss said: "It's part of the game, but not the main part of the game. The main part of the game is we have to play well. We have to be really good in possession and really good out of possession.

"The game management stuff has been overblown massively towards us in the media. That's just my opinion.

"First and foremost, we want to be a good football team, but if there are things you can do, as Kieran (Trippier) showed for the penalty (at Nottingham Forest), to help your team in certain moments, that are all within the laws of the game, we will try to do it."

READ MORE:

Asked whether it was just a case of ten Hag trying to employ mind games, Howe said: "Possibly. I can't speak for how they are preparing their teams and what they are saying in the media. Certainly I think it has been overblown."

Newcastle have become more streetwise this season, evidence of which came in the win at Nottingham Forest when Kieran Trippier grabbed the ball after the Magpies won a late penalty to take the pressure off Alexander Isak, who eventually took the spot-kick and scored the winner.

Howe said of that tactic: "The credit all lies with Kieran. That's his experience, his mindset, to think of someone else in that moment, he took the pressure off Alex. It was a brilliant piece of game management by a very experienced and brilliant leader."