'I've given reasons' - Newcastle boss Eddie Howe opens…

'I've given reasons' - Newcastle boss Eddie Howe opens up on Liverpool time-wasting claims

Eddie Howe insists he has no problem with his Newcastle United side being booed off by opposition supporters as they aim to compete with the Premier League's big boys.

Howe was speaking two days after the Magpies were booed off at Anfield, with Liverpool supporters not happy with how the North East outfit had conducted themselves over the course of the 98 minutes. That was after Jurgen Klopp's side had struggled to break down the Magpies, with the likes of Nick Pope and Joelinton seizing their chance of trying to secure a draw by feigning injuries in a bid to stifle any of the Reds' growing momentum following Roberto Firmino's equaliser shortly after the hour mark.

Firmino had restored parity after the visitors' debutant Alexander Isak had fired Newcastle into the lead with an emphatic strike during the first-half.

But as Liverpool turned on the pressure, tempers began to flair on Merseyside with Klopp, and a number of his players, left visibly unhappy with the gamesmanship Howe's side had instilled on the game as they seemed insistent on running down the clock and leaving Anfield with a well-earned point.

But as Fabio Carvalho snatched a late, late winner in the 98th minute to send Anfield into raptures, the Magpies were booed off the pitch just minutes later as the home fans expressed their anger at what they had seen from the visitors.

"We know what we were trying to do," said Howe on Friday morning. "We were trying to win the game. I've given reasons as to why there were stoppages. Nick Pope went down twice, the first time he was feeling a bit dizzy, the second time, I think he fell on his back. I'm not sure there's a lot we can do there.

"It was a bit bitty in the second half with substitutions and there was certainly no gamesmanship on our side. That's just the way the game went.

"We want to fight for every point, every tackle and do everything we can to win. If that's unpopular with people, then so be it, but we'll continue to hopefully play in the way that we all see that we should. Aside of Newcastle, what people think of us – that Is not my concern."

Howe added: "I don't have any emotion about being booed off. Certainly, we don't want to be clapped off by the opposition in a sympathetic sense. We're here to compete and no part of me thinks differently. How that's perceived by other people has no relevance to me."

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