Eddie Howe salutes ‘OUTSTANDING’ Callum Wilson after the Newcastle striker comes off the bench to hit a brace as the Magpies come from behind to defeat Southampton and keep Champions League qualification on track
- Eddie Howe hails the impact of Callum Wilson in the victory over Southampton
- The England striker came off the bench to score twice in Newcastle’s 3-1 win
- Wilson has now scored 15 goals for Champions League chasing Newcastle
Eddie Howe says the presence of Alexander Isak is protecting Callum Wilson from injury – not that his two-goal match-winner sees it that way.
Wilson came from the bench at half-time with Newcastle trailing 1-0 to Southampton and levelled within nine minutes. Theo Walcott then scored an own goal before Wilson made sure of victory late on.
Howe is yet to start with £60million club-record signing Isak and Wilson together.
But with the pair in double figures for the season, the head coach can only see the benefits of the competition, not least because it affords Wilson a rest.
‘It absolutely helps not having to play Callum in every game,’ said Howe. ‘I know Callum will probably see Alex’s signing as partly negative for him, because he’ll be wondering how many minutes he’s going to play.
Eddie Howe has hailed the impact of Callum Wilson in Newcastle’s 3-1 win over Southampton
Striker Wilson netted two goals after coming off the bench to help Newcastle defeat Saints
Wilson now has 15 goals this season as Howe’s Magpies side stay on course for a top four place
‘But I see it as all positive because it means we can be careful over his minutes. In a three-game week previously, Callum would probably have played every game, and that might have meant he picked up an injury.
‘What I would say is that his attitude has been absolutely first class. That’s why he’s able to perform as he has. He was exceptional here – he changed the game for us.
‘He’s got that desire to score, for the team and for himself as well, and he could have had a hat-trick. It was an outstanding display from Callum.’
It was £40m Anthony Gordon taken off at the break, and Howe said: ‘If I wanted to introduce Callum, I had to take somebody off. It really was a process of that decision, really.
‘I thought Anthony played well in the first half. Our best moments came through him, so it wasn’t really a slight on what he had given the team. I felt I had to do something to stimulate the group and give Southampton a different problem.’
Meanwhile, Saints remain six points from safety and boss Ruben Selles said: ‘We are still alive.
‘I’m going to go and try to win the next four games.
‘My chances are still there and I’m going to grab every single percentage of that. I know it’s low, but I’m going to fight until the very end of the season.’
