EDDIE HOWE praised Bruno Guimaraes’ “captaincy performance” in Newcastle United’s 1-0 win over Southampton.
The Magpies took all three points on the first matchday of the season, despite having to play with ten men for over an hour in the first half following Fabian Schar’s sending off.
Guimaraes wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier and the Brazilian midfielder responded with a superb defensive performance that helped Newcastle secure a hard-fought victory.
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“I was really happy for him (Guimaraes),” Howe said. “When you wear the captain’s armband, you want the team to win. I’ve felt that pressure before as a captain. I think it adds a certain weight to your performance.”
“I think with Bruno, the defensive side of his game was just so good, with Sean (Longstaff) and Joey (Joelinton) it had to be that way. All three contributed massively to this win.
“They were brilliant in the tackles, they covered space and played together as a three, they were brilliant for us. I think that’s something you associate more with other players in our squad, but Bruno’s defensive performance was the best I’ve seen from him.”
Last season, the quality of Newcastle’s defense left a lot to be desired on several occasions, especially away from home.
While Howe admits there is still plenty of room for improvement after yesterday’s performance, he was pleased with the way his side defended the box in the second half despite Southampton’s relentless pressure.
“The clean sheet was great,” he said. “I think that’s the area where we could grow the most. Anyone who watched us last season doesn’t have to be particularly smart to see that. Given the number of goals we scored, we would be a very good team if we could strengthen the defense. It was a game with a good defensive response, not just from the back four and the goalkeeper, but from the whole team.”
“I think to improve defensively we need what we saw today: resilience and the ability to dig deep. We didn’t do that well enough on our travels last year for a lot of different reasons.
“But the Premier League is the Premier League for a reason. It’s the best league in the world, the toughest league in the world, and you can’t do anything against any opponent. It shouldn’t shock anyone how difficult games like today are for everyone. We’ll have days when we play better, of course we will, but it’s all about winning, right?”
