NEWCASTLE United manager Eddie Howe insisted Saints boss Nathan Jones is "doing a brilliant job" after two tough EFL Cup semi-final ties. 

Howe masterminded his side to a 3-1 aggregate victory over Jones’s charges, with Sean Longstaff scoring twice to settle the tie at St James’ Park.

Saints had scored to end goalkeeper Nick Pope’s 10-match clean sheet run through Che Adams, but could not find a second to level on the night after Adam Armstrong saw an effort saved.

Howe inherited this Newcastle side in a relegation battle in November 2021, but new owners have allowed him to propel them to new heights with a cup final and potential Champions League qualification.

Jones must lift his side, also backed by new owners who have spent in the January transfer window, off the bottom of the Premier League table and to safety by the end of May.

Assessing his opposition, Howe told the Daily Echo: “Two really tough games. I think Nathan is doing a brilliant job.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game today, we knew they would have a plan. They changed systems a couple of times in the game and that makes it awkward for you as a team to control the flow and momentum of the game.”

The former AFC Bournemouth man added: “They’ve got some dangerous players, Che Adams’ goal was an excellent strike, and they were in the match right until the end. That was no surprise, we knew it was going to be a difficult game.”

After all three of Newcastle’s goals came from midfielders drifting into space inside the Saints penalty area, the Daily Echo probed Howe on whether this was a deliberate part of his plan.

“It’s an important part of our game with our system and how we set up,” he responded. “We need goals from midfield areas, I’m really pleased with the way we created the goals.

“I’m sure I’m going to enjoy watching the second goal back. But it was a really well-constructed move, the type of goal we’d love to score on a consistent basis. So yeah, that’s part of our game.”

Tuesday night’s victory over Saints at a packed St James’ Park kept alive the Magpies’ hopes of landing a first piece of major silverware since 1969 and a first domestic prize since the 1955 FA Cup.

However, with Manchester United awaiting them at Wembley on February 26, head coach Howe insists they cannot be done yet.

He said: “You always want something. We’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve, which was getting to the final, but then you say, ‘Well, I’m not happy with that, we want to win it’.

“We really want to embrace our past and be very proud of what’s happened here before, but we also want to create new history for ourselves so that’s what we’re determined to do.”

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