Frank Lampard makes Newcastle United admission

A first-half goal from Miguel Almiron gave Eddie Howe’s side a hard-fought 1-0 win last night – and kept the club in sixth place ahead of Sunday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur.

Lampard was appointed by Everton in January, almost three months after Howe’s appointment at Newcastle, and the club’s manager made an admission about the situations of the two respective clubs when asked about the fact his team hadn’t had a shot on target.

"The stats I understand, because in the box we weren't clinical enough,” said Lampard. "In terms of the overall game, in terms of us competing, the stats were very good. It was a close match, Newcastle will know that.

"They’re obviously ahead of us in their development. I think it was my second game we came here, and you could see where we were at and where we are trying to get to.

"It was two evenly-matched teams in general play, but in the box we weren't clinical enough. I’m pretty pleased with parts of the performance.

"They’re physical team, they’re fast on the counters, so they’ll always give teams problems. I don't think they gave us huge amounts of problems.

"The amount of times we played through their midfield with good play – and the next bit isn't there. That is why the stats read low on chances. We should have had many more chances than we created. That is the one reflection I have on the game.”