NEWCASTLE, England :Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is missed by his players in the dugout at St James’ Park, but they again did him proud with a 5-0 home win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday that bolstered their quest for Champions League football next season.
Howe was absent for the second game in succession as he recovers from pneumonia, but following Newcastle’s 4-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday, they put in another superb performance to climb to third in the Premier League table.
“Everyone has shared texts with him and he’s on the road to recovery,” goalscorer Jacob Murphy told Sky Sports.
“We’re missing him but once again I think we put in a performance that he’d be really proud of.
“There’s so many (people) we need to thank for tonight as well that are continuing the great work the gaffer does with us.”
Winger Murphy opened the scoring against Palace with a fierce effort from a tight angle that beat goalkeeper Dean Henderson at his near post. The question is, was it a cross or a shot?
“I did mean it, yeah!” Murphy said. “When the juice is flowing, you’ve just got to hit it. The defender has come out, so it was going to be hard to get it through him. I thought, ‘ah, just shoot here’. Lovely.
“We always knew that the first goal was going to be really important so I’m happy to get it and happy to start off so well.”
Newcastle have 59 points, five more than sixth-placed Chelsea with six matches left in the campaign. The top five will enter the Champions League next season.
They will go to seventh-placed Aston Villa on Saturday, again without Howe, in a vital fixture in the qualification race.
“We are not studying (the table) too hard,” Murphy said. “We’re in a good position but there’s a lot more weekends to go and a lot can change.
“We have to stay on top of our game and keep going, but we are in a great place at the moment.”
