logo
Alexander Isak sent home from Celtic game as Eddie Howe swoons over the brilliance of Brendan

Alexander Isak sent home from Celtic game as Eddie Howe swoons over the brilliance of Brendan

Daily Record6 days ago
League Cup champions Newcastle are preparing for a return to the top tier of European football
Eddie Howe lavished praise on Celtic and insisted Brendan Rodgers side look Champions League ready.

League Cup champions Newcastle are preparing for a return to the top tier of European football but the Hoops face a play-off next month to secure their spot back at the top table. However, after watching his side concede four without reply at Parkhead, Howe admitted his side were second best.

The Magpies boss, who looked set to replace Neil Lennon as Celtic boss four years ago only to pul out when he couldn't get his backroom team in place, said: 'We've had an intense week and we looked a little bit jaded. But it was great for our preparation. Celtic were way ahead of us fitness-wise and sharpness-wise.

'It was a great atmosphere and stadium to play in. It was a good standard of football for so early in pre-season. Whoever Celtic draw in the Champions League will be in for some tough games.'
Liverpool-linked Alexander Isak travelled then was sent home. But Howe insists there's been no approach for the £150m-rated Sweden striker.

He said: "He travelled to Glasgow with us but I decided to send him home due to the speculation around him. The last thing he wanted was to be sat in the stand watching - that wasn't fair to him. But I'm confident he will be a Newcastle player come the end of the window."
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Celtic community here.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'Losing Isak without a replacement ready would be catastrophic'
'Losing Isak without a replacement ready would be catastrophic'

BBC News

time10 minutes ago

  • BBC News

'Losing Isak without a replacement ready would be catastrophic'

Increasingly I feel like we, as Newcastle fans, are not allowed nice things. Ten days ago I wrote about how excited I was about having tw- class players (Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike) playing up days might as well be a lifetime when the transfer window is open. Ekitike went to Liverpool and then news broke on Thursday that Alexander Isak would like to explore a move is bad news. Newcastle do not have a back-up striker. Isak was our top goalscorer last season, and that was playing through slight the start of the window it seemed so exciting that we might get new players to help unlock Isak's potential. Now we might start the season without a no mistake: losing Isak without a replacement ready would be catastrophic for Newcastle United. The club is now exploring a move for RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, but I don't think it is controversial to say it is going to be very difficult to progress in the Champions League without a striker in the we allow Isak to move on, and we get an astronomical fee for him, we need to reinvest immediately.I would prefer we do this business sooner rather than later. If the player is unhappy and wants to move on, then we should make a decision and stick to it - and if the decision is to sell then we need to spend the money almost the instant it comes the other hand, if we are going to keep Isak, the club needs to do some work to make sure he is happy here. We need to give him more money, and we need to bring in other players to support a fan, my main ask is that we end all this speculation and get back to focusing on the upcoming more from Charlotte Robson at the True Faith: Newcastle United Podcast, external

Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie
Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie

Rhyl Journal

time12 minutes ago

  • Rhyl Journal

Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie

The 30-year-old midfielder, signed from Bournemouth this summer, made his Gers debut in the 2-0 win over the 10-man Greek side at Ibrox on Tuesday night. Russell Martin's men struggled for the most part before decisive goals from 19-year-old Findlay Curtis and debutant Djeidi Gassama, either side of Panathinaikos right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis receiving his marching orders after picking up the second of two yellow cards for a foul on Curtis. Ahead of the second leg in Athens – which follows a friendly against Middlesbrough at Ibrox on Saturday – Rothwell was asked if the Light Blues can feel in command of the tie. 'I think we have to now, yeah,' he said. 'Obviously, 2-0, it's a good scoreline, especially in this format. 'So we'll go out there and obviously we won't be looking to defend it. We'll try and go out there and win the game and score as many goals as we can. 'It (2-0 win) can be huge. I think he (Martin) said in his press conference, it was not going to be a season-defining game but we wanted to go out there and put a show on and really show how he wants to do things. 'I think we managed to do that, controlled the game as we like to do and just a bit disappointed that we didn't go and probably kill the game off a little bit more.' The Light Blues should have been behind before Curtis opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, with Martin having to settle his new charges down at the interval before an improved performance in the second half. Rothwell said: 'He said to just stick to what we do. 'We went away from it a little bit, in terms of how we want to play, and in the first 10, 15 (minutes) I think we started the game really well and then probably came away from it a little bit. 'And then obviously with them going down to 10 men, we've managed to control the game and probably disappointed we didn't probably get a few more in the end, but we can't complain, it's a win and we take a lead over there.' Rothwell was impressed and inspired by his first taste of a European night at Ibrox. He said: 'Loved it. Obviously you hear stories from the outside, but when you actually get out there and experience it, it's fantastic and I'm sure the fans are going to be behind us in every single game and we'll need them. 'There'll be times where it might be a bit tough for us, but I'm sure they'll get behind us and then get us over the finish line. 'I think you can really see what the manager wants us to do and how we want to play and I thought it was obviously another good test for us and we came through it in the end.'

Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie
Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie

North Wales Chronicle

time12 minutes ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Joe Rothwell urges Rangers to kill off Panathinaikos tie

The 30-year-old midfielder, signed from Bournemouth this summer, made his Gers debut in the 2-0 win over the 10-man Greek side at Ibrox on Tuesday night. Russell Martin's men struggled for the most part before decisive goals from 19-year-old Findlay Curtis and debutant Djeidi Gassama, either side of Panathinaikos right-back Giorgos Vagiannidis receiving his marching orders after picking up the second of two yellow cards for a foul on Curtis. Ahead of the second leg in Athens – which follows a friendly against Middlesbrough at Ibrox on Saturday – Rothwell was asked if the Light Blues can feel in command of the tie. 'I think we have to now, yeah,' he said. 'Obviously, 2-0, it's a good scoreline, especially in this format. 'So we'll go out there and obviously we won't be looking to defend it. We'll try and go out there and win the game and score as many goals as we can. 'It (2-0 win) can be huge. I think he (Martin) said in his press conference, it was not going to be a season-defining game but we wanted to go out there and put a show on and really show how he wants to do things. 'I think we managed to do that, controlled the game as we like to do and just a bit disappointed that we didn't go and probably kill the game off a little bit more.' The Light Blues should have been behind before Curtis opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, with Martin having to settle his new charges down at the interval before an improved performance in the second half. Rothwell said: 'He said to just stick to what we do. 'We went away from it a little bit, in terms of how we want to play, and in the first 10, 15 (minutes) I think we started the game really well and then probably came away from it a little bit. 'And then obviously with them going down to 10 men, we've managed to control the game and probably disappointed we didn't probably get a few more in the end, but we can't complain, it's a win and we take a lead over there.' Rothwell was impressed and inspired by his first taste of a European night at Ibrox. He said: 'Loved it. Obviously you hear stories from the outside, but when you actually get out there and experience it, it's fantastic and I'm sure the fans are going to be behind us in every single game and we'll need them. 'There'll be times where it might be a bit tough for us, but I'm sure they'll get behind us and then get us over the finish line. 'I think you can really see what the manager wants us to do and how we want to play and I thought it was obviously another good test for us and we came through it in the end.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store