Voices on the game... Newcastle

Among those having their say on tonight’s trip to Newcastle United are Luke Edwards from the Daily Telegraph, our former midfielder Nabil Bentaleb and Magpies boss Steve Bruce. Ahead of the 6pm kick-off at St James’ Park, here’s a round-up of the ‘Voices on the game’...

Luke Edwards

North East Sports Reporter, Daily Telegraph

“Tottenham have got a chance of the Europa League, Newcastle are safe but the thing that makes it interesting for me is that Jose Mourinho of course has never won at St James’ Park in the Premier League (he won a League Cup tie there in 2004). It’s the stadium that he calls ‘Bobby’s House’ in honour of Sir Bobby Robson who obviously he worked with previously, there’s a lot of respect there and it’s strange that he’s never won in the league there, so that makes it interesting. Newcastle have got nothing to play for, I think Tottenham will be favourites but it will give them a different type of challenge to what they had against Arsenal because Newcastle are quite content to play on the counter, they’ll let Tottenham play in front of them if they have to but it’ll be interesting to see because Steve Bruce has changed style a little bit to quite good effect as well, so they might actually try and have a go at Tottenham.

“They’ve got Allan Saint-Maximin who is capable of causing any team in the Premier League problems – quite frankly he was brilliant when we came back after the restart but has been a bit quieter since – and then you’ve got Miguel Almiron who is very quick as well, so they are a very potent, counter-attacking team with those two, and if Jonjo Shelvey is fit then he’s got the passing range in midfield to bring those two into the game. Nabil Bentaleb had a tough time against City last week when they lost 5-0 but he may well play. He’s done okay, I think he’s shown some flashes of how good he can be but because it’s against Tottenham I’d expect him to start.”

Nabil Bentaleb

Former Spurs midfielder, on loan at Newcastle from Schalke

“It’s always a pleasure to play against great teams and Spurs are a top team now. I’m pretty excited to be playing against them. I’ve said it in previous interviews, I can’t thank them enough. They gave me the opportunity to achieve my dreams so I’m thankful and grateful for what they did for me.

“As a player you always want to play well and that’s what I’m looking to do. I hope to help the team as much as I can. It was a strange situation, I came, I played a few games and then the lockdown… it was a little bit strange but hopefully everything will be good and we’ll see what happens in the future.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game, we know what to expect from them, they’ve just won the north London derby but we’re up for it. We’ve spoken about it and it’s very important to finish on a high. We have three tough games to come and we’re going to look forward to making the best out of them.”

Steve Bruce

Newcastle manager

Reflecting on his side’s 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season: “That was the first game I ever won as Newcastle manager. It was 90 or 100 degrees and Ben Stokes on that day pulled off all sorts of tricks (in The Ashes). It was a good day in a wonderful stadium. To beat Tottenham in their own back yard will always stay with me. Now, it seems like a year later, we’ve got them at home. Let’s hope we can repeat the performance – we played very well on the day, and defended well. That’s what we’re going to have to do again.

“They’ve got a big European place to play for, and you could see what it meant to them. When you look at the team that they’ve got and the manager they’ve got, and everything that’s in place at Spurs, you always know they’re one of the big clubs. They’ve got big players and something to play for, so it’s very important that we go and match their endeavour.”

Jose Mourinho

Spurs Head Coach

“They are playing really well. They have different ways of playing, depending on the players on the pitch. One thing is Andy Carroll, Joelinton, another is Gayle, Almiron, Saint-Maximin. I think Steve Bruce has found a very good balance in the squad. They know how to play, they know how to get points, they can be dangerous in many different ways. So, difficult for us.

“Steve Bruce is a guy I like very, very much since my arrival in England many years ago. I’ve played against him so many times in different clubs, Steve with different clubs. I met him a few times outside match days. I spoke with him on the phone so many times because when he was at Villa he had some of my players on loan. I spoke with him when I was United manager and he was of course an important former United captain. I like him very, very much. I’m so happy that things went in the right direction for him this season, with a very stable season when he can show he has all the qualities to take the club in the right direction.”

Martin Dúbravka

Newcastle goalkeeper

“It is another difficult opponent to play against – they have quality players and a quality manager as well, but we have proved that we can beat these big teams. It’s a nice thing of the Premier League that even the outsiders can beat the favourite teams, so we will try to do that, especially at home. We have had a good run of games at St. James’ Park, so why not try to do it again?

“We always have preparation for the game. We always know what kind of football they are trying to play, what is their threat, but on the other side, we are trying to also build up our performances and our style of the game. It’s just trying to find the balance between how to play against these teams. It’s always difficult to play against quality names like Harry Kane, but they have a couple of other quality players as well. It’s going to be another tough game, but it is up to us to try to fight and try to win the game.”