Eddie Howe doesn’t want Newcastle to be viewed as “victims” following their late disappointment at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
The Saudi Arabian-owned Magpies were seconds away from a famous Champions League win at the Parc des Princes when the hosts were awarded a controversial penalty after Tino Livramento handled in the area.
Kylian Mbappe duly dispatched the spot-kick past Nick Pope to hand PSG a point in a 1-1 draw and take Newcastle’s chances of advancing to the knockout stages out of their hands.
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Asked about the lingering effects from that setback, Howe said: “There was a bit of reflection afterwards and a lot of disappointment in the dressing room.
“Collectively we felt we were minutes away from an historic result and what happened happened. When a new day comes you have to look at it differently and look forward to the next game.”
Manchester United visit St James’ Park on Saturday night and Howe says the focus has to now switch to that game.
“The results, whether positive or negative, can’t linger with us,” he added, “even for a couple of days because that influences what happens in the future.
“When something like that happens, you allow the players to be emotional but we don’t want to view ourselves as victims. It’s happened, we put it to the back of our heads and use it as motivation.
“You can’t wallow in it, there’s no positive element to feeling sorry for yourself.”
Newcastle are currently without a host of first-team players while midfielder Sandro Tonali is serving a 10-month ban for illegal betting activity.
But Howe is still happy with the make-up of the team he has been able to field.
“We want to get through December but we want to do well,” he said.
“We still have a good team on the pitch. Yes, we have some youth in it but we also have plenty of experience, and we are good enough to get good results.”
