Eddie Howe will be fit for the weekend, says assistant coach Tindall

Newcastle, April 11 (IANS) Assistant manager Jason Tindall believes Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe should be available for Sunday's Premier League fixture against Manchester United despite the Magpies boss suffering an illness this week.

United host Ruben Amorim's side at St. James' Park, aiming for a first league double against the Red Devils since the 1930/31 campaign as well as a fourth consecutive Premier League victory.

With Eddie Howe missing Friday's pre-match media briefing due to illness, Tindall was in attendance to complete media duties and is hopeful the 47-year-old will be in the dugout ahead of this weekend's clash.

"He's been poorly in the last couple of days but we've been in daily contact. We've been speaking three or four times a day so it's not affected any of the preparations. We've still got a couple of days and I'm sure he'll be fine for the weekend.

"It's not very often that he is unable to come to work and it's a bit different (not having him around the training ground) but it's only been a couple of days,” said Tindall

The Premier League is set to be one of two leagues in Europe rewarded with an extra place in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League after Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final.

England is now guaranteed a top-two spot in UEFA's association club coefficient rankings, which earns a "European Performance Spot" (EPS). This means that as well as the top four-placed teams in the Premier League, the club finishing fifth in 2024/25 will also go straight into the Champions League next season which is positive news for Newcastle, who occupy the spot currently with eight games still left to play

Tindall claimed the side is in the right position at this stage of the season and will be taking it one game at a time till the end of the competition.

"We're in a position that we would have wanted to be in with eight games remaining. There are a lot of teams fighting for those positions. We've got a busy week coming up but the most important thing is the Man United game and making sure we prepare right for that. If we can deliver a performance and get the result we want, it takes us one step closer to where we want to get to,” added Tindall.

--IANS

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