Newcastle United players gone mad, ‘siege mentality’ call made

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has talked up the need for the Magpies to continue their siege mentality after scenes of a half-time tunnel bust-up emerged. Toon players were furious after the game exploded in the first half with Ben Brereton Díaz provoking Fabian Schar into being sent off.

That moment incensed Dan Burn with footage showing things spilling over into the tunnel at half-time as the Blyth lad clashed with Southampton’s Jan Badnarek. Howe stated after the game that the club would look at video footage of the red card incident, adding that the type of siege mentality seen from his group is required if Newcastle are to contest for a place in the top four.

Howe, speaking at his post-game press conference, told Chronicle Live: “We have to grab that sentiment (siege mentality) because the season we finished fourth we had that running through us. We were written off, we were criticised – you name it. There was a lot of stuff thrown at us.

“Then when you get plaudits when you are successful it’s dangerous sometimes. You want to feel like you are fighting against the odds. Now I will take that mindset from today against Southampton because we were against the odds. We were fighting to get something from the game.”

When reflecting on the red card for Fabian Schar, Howe said: “Contact was minimal. It was a harsh sending off, but we’ll learn from it. I think it’s really harsh on Fabby. Although I think we all know that you can’t give the referee the possibility to even give the red card.

“It’s something we’ll learn from, I think our disciplinary record has been good for a long period of time, so I don’t think that’s something that’s in our game.”

The head coach also paid tribute to the fans who raised their levels after Schar was sent off before Joelinton lashed home the winner. He said: “We had our backs to the wall and I think [the fans] knew how much we needed them. We were free-scoring last season and that was something we pride ourselves on. We’ve done a lot of work on our defensive shape in pre-season. The players regrouped today and produced a great display.”