Allan Saint-Maximin's mind is made up about one thing at Newcastle United

Howe was appointed as Steve Bruce’s successor at Newcastle United earlier this month.

And the 43-year-old has an unenviable task at the club, which is 20th in the Premier League after a winless start to the season.

Howe had to miss his first game in charge – he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of last weekend’s home fixture against Brentford, and is self-isolating in a hotel – but assistant Jason Tindall suggested after the game, which ended 3-3, that he could be in the dugout for Saturday’s game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Saint-Maximin – who scored Newcastle’s equaliser against Brentford – labelled Howe a “great coach” after the match.

“It was bad (that Howe wasn’t at the game), because we need him,” said Saint-Maximin, who paid tribute to Bruce following his departure last month. “He’s a good coach for me. I don’t need one year with him to see if he’s a good coach or not – he’s a great coach. They have a nice philosophy, a nice idea – and you can see that from the first game.

“We played more in attack, we had more chances to score, and it was more difficult to defend against us, so we just have to keep going like this and to concede fewer goals, and I’m sure we’re going to win more games.”

Howe worked with the players over the international break before testing positive for Covid-19 the day before the Brentford fixture.

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