It is not common for media-trained footballers to swear, particularly in interviews ahead of games, but Emil Krafth made an exception when he told Premier League Productions that 'everyone was p-----' after Newcastle United's second-half capitulation at Spurs. An angry Krafth went on to apologise to supporters for his side's performance despite not even being on the pitch that day and vowed the players would 'use the pain' to spur them on against Wolves. They certainly did that, all right.
In fact, the majority of those who were in the starting line-up on Friday night were the same players hammered 5-1 at Spurs just five days previously. Eddie Howe was keen to give these individuals the chance to make amends and they bounced back to claim a priceless 1-0 victory against Wolves, which has taken Newcastle another step closer to safety.
Howe only made one unenforced change all told as Krafth came in for Javier Manquillo while Bruno Guimaraes replaced the injured Joe Willock in the middle of the park. Bruno, understandably, grabbed the headlines with a man of the match display, but Krafth also played his part in the win following a steady display at right-back, which may well go down as his best outing yet for the club.
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Krafth was among those who played like his future was at stake after Howe warned he was making 'assessments and judgements' on his players every day ahead of this game. It was a committed performance from the right-back and, perhaps, it won't come as a surprise that Krafth made more blocks (four) than anyone else in black-and-white on Friday night.
When Howe spoke about how his players 'gave everything' with a 'very diligent and very disciplined' performance, the Newcastle head coach could just so easily have been referring to Krafth. One particular moment in the second half stood out where Krafth managed to recover to win the ball back off Hwang, who put Newcastle to the sword in the reverse fixture last October, after the winger appeared to have got past him.
While Krafth has been far from flawless in recent months, the 27-year-old has played his best football for the club under Howe after stepping up in the injured Kieran Trippier's absence. There were concerns about how Newcastle would cope without the influential Trippier in that period, but Newcastle have only lost one of the six games that Krafth has started since the England international fractured a bone in his foot.
Javier Manquillo tends to give Newcastle more going forward, but, perhaps, it was not a surprise that Howe recalled the defence-first Krafth after what happened at Spurs. Howe rarely takes off a full-back before the hour mark but Manquillo was hooked in the capital after failing to cover himself in glory for both of Matt Doherty and Son Heung-min's goals.
Newcastle went on to concede five goals that afternoon. It was the first time that the Magpies had shipped five all season and the first time Howe's side had even let in more than a goal in a game since December so the Newcastle head coach was curious to see how his players would respond after the coaching staff worked closely with the defence in the build-up to the Wolves game.
Krafth went on to play his part in a dogged defensive showing as Newcastle kept just their first clean sheet since February and the right-back now looks set to keep his place for the visit of Leicester City on Easter Sunday. What happens in the weeks and months to come is a little more uncertain.
Kieran Trippier hopes to return to action before the season is out and Krafth, himself, has admitted that he has 'no idea' about his future at the club beyond the end of the current campaign. If this is to prove one of Krafth's final starts for the club, then, the right-back has certainly played his part in the first phase of his project in potentially helping to keep Newcastle up.
However, Howe may yet be reluctant to let Krafth go if the £5m signing can continue to build on these performances.
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