Eddie Howe's positional view on Joe Willock - and what it means for future
EDDIE HOWE paid tribute to Joe Willock after the Newcastle United midfielder ended a difficult week on a high in last night’s FA Cup victory at Birmingham City.
Willock suffered online racial abuse in the wake of last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Fulham, when he missed a gilt-edged opportunity after coming off the substitutes’ bench.
Both Newcastle United and the Premier League issued statements condemning the abuse, with Willock successfully putting the incident behind him at St Andrew’s.
The Magpies midfielder scored his side’s first-half equaliser as the officials decided his shot that was parried by Bailey Peacock-Farrell had crossed the line, and fired home the 82nd-minute winner that took Newcastle through to the FA Cup fifth round.
“I think Joe's handled himself this week really, really well,” said Howe, whose side will discover their fifth-round opponents when the draw takes place on Monday night. “I think his response to what he suffered was really admirable.
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“He’s a very strong person. He loves his football, and this week, I think he's just concentrated on that and tried to put all other distractions behind him. It was a nice response from Joe, and he let his football do the talking.”
With Gordon and Harvey Barnes both unavailable because of injury, Willock played in a more advanced position that usual down the left-hand side.
“It was interesting to see him (Willock) there,” said Howe. “With Anthony’s injury, we played Joe in his position as a wide-left player.
“I thought he did really well. I think he’s got the running capacity to play in that position. It’s different to playing infield, but he’s got the pace to take players on and engage in those one-on-one actions.
“He’s also then got the technique to come into pockets, and come inside and shoot on his right foot. I thought he looked a threat throughout the game.
“The beauty of Joe when he does play inside, as a midfielder, is that he drifts wide a lot anyway. So I think he’s really comfortable in those wide areas.”
