Callum Wilson has revealed he has nothing but respect for Eddie Howe's decision making process at Newcastle United - even if it did potentially cost him his first Toon hat-trick against West Ham.
Wilson's number came up on 64 minutes with the West Ham in defensive disarray and the number 9 clearly in the mood to cause more damage to David Moyes' relegation-haunted Hammers. The striker had been sidelined in recent games with illness but has now scored two in two against Manchester United then West Ham.
With the clash against Brentford starting to come into Howe's mind with an hour on the clock at the London Stadium and that resulted in Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin and Jacob Murphy all being withdrawn for a breather. The emphasis on the "squad game" at Newcastle this season could not be greater.
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When asked if he was looking for the hat-trick before his number was called in Stratford, Wilson, speaking in the mixed zone at West Ham, said: "Always, but we have another game in a couple of days. So the manager made his decision and I respect that.
"As a striker, you always want to score as many as possible, especially in a game like West Ham. But it wasn't to be and hopefully we can take it into the weekend."
Wilson is priced at 60/1 to get a hat-trick against Brentford with Paddy Power this weekend and it remains to be seen whether Howe decides to rotate his strike force again. But regardless of who starts the Magpies seem in the mood for goals with Howe having a plethora of attacking options at his disposal.
The 5-1 win over West Ham was Newcastle's biggest Premier League away game since a similar five-star demolition job under Ruud Gullit in 1998. That day United ran out 5-1 winners at the old Highfield Road ground against Coventry City.
Looking back on the West Ham win, Wilson said: "It was a good win away from home. One of those where you have to be mentally switched on in games like this and against teams like West Ham. They are dangerous places to come."
Wilson has now netted 12 goals against West Ham in just 13 matches in games for Newcastle and AFC Bournemouth. He reflected: "You have some teams that you play against and all of a sudden you score more against them than others. West Ham are one of those."
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