Nick Pope has told Newcastle they have to believe they can win every game if they are to be thought of as a top team.
The Magpies head into Tuesday night’s crunch Champions League clash with Paris St Germain knowing their first campaign in two decades could be over if they lose.
Memories of October’s 4-1 demolition of the French champions at St James’ Park, which took Eddie Howe’s men to the top of Group F after two rounds of fixtures, have faded after back-to-back defeats by Borussia Dortmund left them at the foot of the table.
However, asked what they need at the Parc des Princes, Pope said: “A win would be nice. That’s not going to do any harm in any group at any stage.
“It obviously keeps it in our hands as well, which is something that would be nice going into the Milan at home game. But the full focus has got to be on tomorrow night and taking it one game at a time.
“Every game we go into, we’ve got to look to win, whether that’s League Cup, Champions League, league.
“I believe we’re a top team and top team behaviours and top team attitudes, that’s what it is. Whoever the opponent may be, however good they are, we have to have the belief and the attitude that we want to win the game.”
Newcastle managed to keep PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe and his team-mates quiet on Tyneside, but the France international has been in lethal form since, scoring 14 goals in his last 11 games for club and country.
Another clean sheet in Paris would do Pope’s chances of winning back a place in the England set-up no harm and, although he insists he has no problem with manager Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave him out of recent squads, he knows what he needs to do to stand a chance of returning.
He said: “You can always do more. There’s more clean sheets to be had, more saves, better performances. I’ve got to look inwardly at that. Gareth’s decision to leave me out, I’ve got to make it that he can’t leave me out.”
Pope may not be the only Magpie whose form Southgate is monitoring, with Anthony Gordon staking his claim for an elevation from the under-21 ranks with a series of high-octane performances amid a crippling injury crisis.
Howe was without 13 senior players for Saturday’s 4-1 league win over Chelsea, in which the former Everton man scored the final goal, and will have to play a key role in the French capital if his side is to prosper.
The Magpies head coach, who may have to include 17-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley in his starting line-up once again after a hugely impressive display against the Blues, knows just how high the stakes are, but is not cowed by the pressure.
Howe, who put his players through their paces at the Parc des Princes on Monday evening having trained back in Newcastle for the previous two away games, said: “It’s difficult to predict football matches and what the results may be and the permutations of others’ games. We try not to lose energy doing that.
“From our side, we prepare to try to win this game, that’s all we can do and then worry about Milan afterwards.
“We’re certainly not in a strong position, we’re not in the position that we wanted to be, but we are where we are and we have to just focus on this game, and I think it’s imperative we don’t lose.”
Howe confirmed midfielder Joe Willock is to see a specialist on Tuesday over his Achilles injury.
Jude Bellingham is confident Real Madrid can overturn a 3-0 first-leg Champions League deficit against Arsenal on Wednesday to book their place in the last four.Real were left stunned by the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium last week after Declan Rice scored two outstanding free-kicks to leave Carlo Ancelotti’s side with a mountainous task.But 15-time European champions Real have produced som...
Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique admitted his side would not be intimidated by a hostile atmosphere at Aston Villa as they looked to finish the job in their Champions League quarter-final.The Ligue 1 champions travel to Birmingham with a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg in Paris and are heavy favourites to progress to the last four.But they will face a sterner test on Tuesday as th...
Arsenal forward Alessia Russo has silverware in her sights as she prepares to take on Real Madrid in the first Champions League quarter-final of her career.The in-form England international is the second highest scorer in the Women’s Super League this season with 10 goals and has also registered five times in Europe.Arsenal – the only English club to have won the Champions League, foll...
Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique believes the team which prevails in their last-16 tie against Liverpool at Anfield will be Champions League finalists.PSG trail 1-0 from their first leg despite a dominant display at the Parc des Princes but the former Barcelona boss is confident they can turn things around on Tuesday.“The most important game is the one which comes next and I hope it ...
Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor believes her side will be “desperate” to earn a good result in their midweek Women’s Super League clash with Leicester at Kingsmeadow.The Blues dropped points for only the second time in the league this season after Lauren James’ second-half equaliser rescued a point in a 2-2 draw with Brighton at the weekend.The defending champions mainta...
Carlo Ancelotti says Real Madrid will appeal to reduce the length of Jude Bellingham’s ban following his sending off against Osasuna.The England international was shown a straight red card for foul and abusive language during a 1-1 draw last Saturday and received a two-match suspension.The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has already rejected an appeal to reverse the ban, but Ancelotti sai...
Man City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday desperate for victoryCityzens fell further into crisis with late Manchester derby defeatVillans hoping to further punish miserable Man City formManchester City make the challenging trip to Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League as they desperately look to end their three-game winless run.Last weekend's late and embarrassing defeat to local rivals M...
Team newsCrystal Palace will be without Eberechi Eze, who injured his hip in the midweek EFL defeat by Arsenal.Matheus Franca and Adam Wharton are still sidelined because of groin injuries, with neither expected to feature again in 2024.Defender Daniel Munoz, who served an EFL Cup ban in midweek, is again suspended as a result of accumulating five yellow cards in the Premier League.Arsenal midfiel...
After their dreams of EFL Cup stardom crashed and burned in midweek, Brentford make a welcome return to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, when Nottingham Forest visit for a Premier League battle.Thomas Frank's men fell to a 3-1 loss to Newcastle United in Wednesday's cup quarter-final, while the Garibaldi pulled off a tremendous late turnaround to sink Aston Villa 2-1 last weekend.Away days...
Looking to enjoy a top-flight success in front of their East Anglian faithful for the first time this season, Ipswich Town will welcome Newcastle United to Portman Road on Saturday afternoon for a Premier League clash.The Tractor Boys delivered a significant blow in the survival race last weekend by downing Wolverhampton Wanderers in the West Midlands, whilst the Magpies have enjoyed a pair of pro...
- 1 Four Tottenham stars could leave this summer
- 2 Man Utd & Man City join PSG in race for Akliouche
- 3 Jordan Bowery earns Mansfield a point at Rotherham
- 4 Man City in pole position to secure Morgan Gibbs
- 5 Liverpool join race to sign attacker Jeremy Monga
- 6 Arteta makes exciting Arsenal transfer claim
- 7 Grant McCann to keep Doncaster players calm despite being on brink of promotion
- 8 Mentality and spirit unbelievable – Daniel Farke praises promoted Leeds players
- 9 Rushian Hepburn-Murphy double helps ease Crawley drop fears
- 10 Ten-man Falkirk beaten by Raith as late goals keep title race alive