1. Howe demands ‘commitment and resolve’ from unsettled trio
A defiant Eddie Howe has vowed to “fight harder than ever before” to reignite Newcastle’s season and has debunked suggestions that history is repeating itself as he apparently runs out of ideas on Tyneside.
With Newcastle 14th in the Premier League, there is a school of thought that Howe’s hitherto successful time at St James’ Park is ending in similar fashion to the disappointing conclusion of his Bournemouth tenure six years ago. Howe, who comes up against his former club, fails to detect such parallels.
“Every club’s different and this club is totally different to Bournemouth,” he said. “If me leaving helps the club, then, of course, that’s something I’ll do. I’ve got no issue doing that. It’s not about me. But if I believe I’m right person to take the club forward, which I do right now, then I’ll do that and fight to the end. I’ll fight harder than I’ve ever fought before. My fire is burning very, very strongly. There’s loads of wood stacked up and I’m ready to put it on it.”
Howe hopes to revive Newcastle’s creative spark against on Saturday and win a league fixture against his old club for the first time since leaving the south coast. His cause is hindered by the swirl of transfer speculation surrounding three of his key players – Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento.
“The one thing I’m not going to do is play a player if they are not 100% committed to the club and its future,” warned Howe, whose side have lost their last three games. “That commitment and resolve has to be total.”
One player whose loyalty to Newcastle has never been doubted is the Bruno Guimarães, but Howe’s captain has been absent since February, sidelined by first a hamstring injury and then mumps. “There’s a chance Bruno can be fit for Bournemouth,” Howe said. “He’s desperate to help the team. The medical team are trying to hold him back but I will make a decision.”
Howe was speaking against a backdrop of uncertainty regarding the commitment of the club’s owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to Newcastle, but he seemed unfazed by rumours they could turn the financial taps off. “I wouldn’t seek any assurances,” he insisted. “It’s business as usual for me.
“I know behind the scenes there’s a lot of work happening about the [new] training ground and [potentially new] stadium. I think the future of the club is really bright. The ownership will drive the club forward. I have no doubt of that.”
PIF executives will hold an inquest into this season next month and Howe would be receptive to refreshing his longstanding backroom staff. “I’m open to anything,” he said.
“I certainly haven’t got a fixed or closed mindset. We’ve got staff that have been hugely successful for me, and for us, over a long period of time and you’ve got to be very careful not to throw out good things on the back of an over reaction to a shorter term problem. But healthy change can sometimes be really, really good.” Louise Taylor
2. Slot believes wilting Liverpool can withstand derby heat
Arne Slot is adamant Liverpool will be up for any battle that awaits at Everton on Sunday and has insisted his team’s competitive spirit cannot be questioned given the setbacks they have endured this season.
Slot believes reservations over the fight in his team – or lack of it – are based solely on a 20-minute collapse in the FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City and not their campaign overall. Liverpool will face a physical and mental challenge in the first Merseyside derby to be held at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, and Slot claims anyone doubting his players’ ability to compete should revisit their performance against European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
“Would these people have doubted how we would have performed against Paris Saint-Germain?” he said. “Would they have thought they are going to run over us and it’s going to be ridiculous? Then they saw a team that competed as hard as it did and worked as hard as it did.
“I cannot change the height of my players, that’s the first thing, but I think my players have shown throughout this season after all the setbacks we’ve had – and we have had a lot – that they were able to compete. Maybe now there is a complete focus on that 20 minutes against City who, by the way, did the same thing at Stamford Bridge a week later by scoring three goals in 15 minutes.
“But I’ve seen my team work hard every single game. Maybe the outcome doesn’t always show it but the question is always, what is working hard? Can you expect a player of a certain height to win a header against a taller player? But they will 100% work hard because they know what this game means to the fans and what it means to us.”
Liverpool could take an important step towards qualifying for next season’s Champions League with victory over their local rivals and Slot admitted the next six games “could impact our plans for the summer at this club.”
Those summer transfer plans must factor in the long-term absence of Hugo Ekitiké with a ruptured achilles tendon. Liverpool’s leading goalscorer could be sidelined for the rest of the year with the injury he sustained against PSG and, with Mohamed Salah leaving, Slot admits Ekitiké’s availability will be a consideration in the club’s transfer strategy.
“You always take into account which players are available for large parts of next season and then you think: ‘What’s there on the market, what can we afford, who wants to come to us?’ It is not as simple as people think it is,” said the head coach.
“You always look at your squad for the short and long term, especially this club is very focused on that. A lot of other clubs are very focused on the short term but this club tries to combine that with the long term. So a lot of factors go into a decision and one of them is definitely Hugo being out. The others are what is available, what does the rest of the team look like and what do we need?” Andy Hunter
3. De Zerbi tells Tottenham to ‘show we have blood, not water, inside’
Roberto De Zerbi insists Tottenham can escape relegation if his players are mentally stronger and feel proud to wear the shirt. Time is fast slipping away to avoid Spurs’s first relegation in 49 years and a game against the head coach’s former club – one of the most in-form sides in the Premier League – offers no respite.
The pressure may intensify before kick-off on Saturday evening. Nottingham Forest, in 16th, play second-bottom Burnley in an earlier game and could move six points clear. Spurs sit two points behind 17th-placed West Ham, who do not play until Monday against Crystal Palace, but there is a scenario in which they find themselves five points adrift of safety on Monday night.
When De Zerbi arrived at Brighton, players admitted they were initially confused by training sessions during the first few weeks before he elevated them to another level, playing some of the most exciting football in the league. De Zerbi does not have that kind of time to embed his complex style and philosophy in his Tottenham players, but he considers the two situations are different.
“They don’t need to improve as players now,” the Italian said. “To achieve our target we don’t need to become better with the ball, become better without the ball. To achieve our target, we have to be stronger in our head, as a character, as a relationship between the players, to believe in ourselves, to believe in our club, to be happy to have this shirt with us, to be happy and proud to work in this big club. Just that is enough.”
De Zerbi was full of passion for the challenge ahead, clutching the Spurs crest on his training top to underline the pride he wants his players to feel. He said they “have to show we have blood, not water, inside” and demanded the right “character, the right spirit, the right attitude, and balls.”
In an attempt to overcome their slump – Spurs have not won in the league in 2026 – De Zerbi took the players for a team-bonding meal in London’s Mayfair, last week. “The food was amazing,” he said. “And if we win, I am ready to pay every week for one dinner.”
Tottenham’s cause has been further damaged by Cristian Romero’s knee injury, which has ruled the captain out for the remainder of the season. De Zerbi said he was undecided who would replace the Argentine but wants to see players take on responsibility across the pitch.
“There are a lot of different types to be a leader,” De Zerbi said. “A leader who talks inside of the dressing room, the leader with the ball, the leader in the tough moments, the leader because he helps the teammates. To be a stronger team we need many, many leaders.”
De Zerbi will again be without first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario at the weekend. He is expected to return next week. In his absence, Antonin Kinsky will deputise. Rodrigo Bentancur is available again, but is not expected to start. Sam Cunningham
4. Iraola says exit decision ‘not about any other club’
Andoni Iraola insists his decision to leave Bournemouth was “not about any other club”. The 43-year-old Spaniard’s impending departure was announced on Tuesday following three years with the south coast side. His contract was set to expire in the summer and, following reports linking him with other clubs including Athletic Bilbao, Iraola revealed he does not know what his next move will be.
“The decision was not about any other club. There has been no other club involved, it was about continuing here or not continuing here,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next season. I don’t know if I’m going to coach a team, a club, coach a national team, coach in this continent, I’m not going to coach. I have no idea what’s going to happen.
“I don’t have any rush to know it. I’ve taken a big decision for me now in this moment. Now I want to focus on what will happen in these six games. It’ll be massive for us. There’s going to be time to think, if we have to think, on something else.”
Andoni steered the Cherries to a ninth-placed Premier League finish last season and they are currently 11th with six games left in this campaign. Speaking before Saturday’s trip to Newcastle, Iraola added: “It has been a decision that has taken me a lot of time to take, it hasn’t been a clear decision. Always during this process, this season, I’ve been talking to the club about the situations, they were very aware this could happen.
“There is not always one main reason. The decision I’ve taken is because probably I don’t want to risk the feeling I have right now of satisfaction of these three seasons. You try to envision yourself in a possible fourth season, a possible fifth season and everything costs more. We as human beings get tired of watching the same phases. I suppose I decided this was the right moment to put an end to this journey that for me has been really special.” PA Media
5. Glasner pledges total commitment to the very end
Oliver Glasner insists he has had no trouble maintaining “100% commitment” to Crystal Palace as he approaches the end of his tenure in south London. In January, the Eagles manager announced his intention to move on when his contract expires at the conclusion of the current campaign.
The 51-year-old Austrian led Palace to their first major trophy when they lifted the FA Cup in 2025 and could be on course to guide them to another after they reached the Conference League semi-finals on Thursday night.
“For me it’s easy because I’m doing this job, because I’m loving this job and then it’s always 100%,” Glasner told Sky Sports. “As soon as I feel I can just give 99%, I would leave and then maybe retire or whatever. I think this is what every player, every fan, and everybody, every employee of Crystal Palace deserves, that the manager, that I give 100%. That’s what I am always doing and so that is really easy for me.”
Glasner gave Palace the night off in Florence to celebrate after reaching the Conference League last four. They next face relegation-battling West Ham in the Premier League at Selhurst Park on Monday night. PA Media