Eddie Howe says he had no qualms about being second best in the possession stakes against Leicester City. But warned that his United team won't always be so compromising.
Newcastle had just 31% of the ball against the Foxes but still won the game 2-1 at St James' Park. Howe's side did create 16 goal attempts overall but after the game he was asked about the lack of possession.
Howe said: "The credit I can give the players today is that we accepted our role – that doesn't mean that we always want to accept our role as the team that didn't have the ball, but we accepted it and sort of understood at that moment we couldn't necessarily change it."
Howe can't be criticised for the way his side showed courage to go for all three points. At 1-1 a point would not have been a bad result against the FA Cup holders and Europa Conference League semi-finalists.
But Howe made three positive substitutions and went for the jugular. He said: "The danger is when you chase too much, especially as we were slightly tired with the heat and everything, you chase and you leave gaps.
"We didn't. We were compact we accepted where we were and then knew that counter-attack transitions, we were going to be a huge threat.
"If you look at the stats on the game, we had by far the best chances in the match, so maybe today, but long-term, we have to change that. But maybe that's not for now."
