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Eddie Howe has challenged his Newcastle players to book themselves another crack at the Champions League after seeing them slip out of Europe in dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n
At one point on Wednesday evening, the Magpies were heading for the last 16 of European football\u2019s premier club competition, but they ended it empty-handed after AC Milan came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at St James\u2019 Park.<\/p>\n
That booked them a Europa League berth and ended Newcastle\u2019s continental involvement for the season, but a disappointed Howe is targeting a swift return.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love the opportunity to do that again and I think that has to be our focus very quickly<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI\u2019d love the opportunity to do that again and I think that has to be our focus very quickly. I don\u2019t think we can look at anything other than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be there again and we\u2019re still close enough in the Premier League to do that and compete. All these things happen for a reason, I\u2019m a believer in that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ambition is there, of course. It\u2019s there from all of us \u2013 but doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019ll happen. We have to make that happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you don\u2019t achieve what you want, you have a setback, you have a disappointment, you have to use it as fuel and that\u2019s very much has always been my way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pain that you feel now is motivation for tomorrow. We now have to focus on the Premier League and have to try to make sure we get our form in the Premier League as strong as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defeat by Milan \u2013 the Magpies\u2019 third on the trot in all competitions \u2013 came courtesy of goals from Christian Pulisic and substitute Samuel Chukwueze after Joelinton had blasted them ahead.<\/p>\n
They will resume domestic action against Fulham on Saturday sitting in seventh place in the table, seven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth.<\/p>\n
While their domestic home for has been excellent, Newcastle have won only once on the road and with their injury problems starting to abate \u2013 Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn were all involved against the Italians \u2013 Howe is calling for a fresh focus.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI don\u2019t want a hangover from this. We have to learn from it and quickly put it away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players need to believe how good they can be, how good we are and this is a good test of that for us because of what\u2019s happened in the last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball is an amazing thing, isn\u2019t it? You go back 10 days and we had just beaten Manchester United with our best performance of the season. Then three games later, we\u2019ve had three defeats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s football.\u201d<\/p>\n