‘We know’ - Eddie Howe makes Goodison Park atmosphere claim ahead of Everton vs Newcastle

Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle United must be prepared for a 'hostile' Goodison Park when they travel to Everton on Thursday night.

The Magpies are enjoying a fantastic season and have surpassed almost everyone's expectations. They are third in the Premier League table after thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 6-1 yesterday afternoon and on track to qualify for the Champions League.

Everton, on the other hand, couldn't find themselves much worse off. A 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace last weekend saw them drop into the relegation zone because of Leicester City's victory over Wolves.

The Toffees are in a scrap for survival for a second straight campaign after narrowly keeping their top-flight status on the penultimate day of 2021-22. Everton earned a crucial 1-0 win against Newcastle in their battle at the bottom last term, with Alex Iwobi scoring in stoppage-time.

And Howe insists that the St James' Park outfit are in for another tough evening and is not getting carried away despite their emphatic triumph over Tottenham.

The Newcastle boss, who grew up supporting Everton, said via the Newcastle Chronicle: "Me personally, no. I am talking about Everton now and making sure we focus on our next game.

"We went there this time last year really in a similar position in the sense of evening game, Everton desperate for the win themselves, we were desperate for the win and it was a difficult evening for us, so we need to learn the lessons from that. We know how hostile it's going to be.

"I don't sense they (the players) are looking ahead – I don't think we can afford to look ahead. I think we can only afford to look ahead as in day-by-day and making sure that we come in tomorrow with the right attitude and thinking about our next performance and how we could have improved today's performance.

"That's always how I've worked. You take the good bits and you take the bits you can improve and then you try to put the foundations in place to allow you to improve, so that's what we'll do."