Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe's Crystal Palace and Chelsea warning to his players

Howe’s side beat Southampton 4-1 at the St Mary’s Stadium yesterday to move up to third place in the Premier League. Next up are Crystal Palace in a third-round Carabao Cup tie on Wednesday night.

That game is followed by a home league fixture against Chelsea on Saturday, after which the domestic programme will be paused for the tournament in Qatar.

Howe said at that St Mary's Stadium that he wanted his team to “soak in” what they had achieved over the past few months.

“I think I said in my press conference before the game how quickly that year has gone,” said United’s head coach, who was appointed a 12 months ago.

“I think it’s important in our position now that we think back, because last year was a very, very difficult position, and quickly forgotten, so I’d encourage the players to really enjoy this moment that we’re in now, really try and soak in what they’re achieving, because it was a very difficult game, a really tough place to come.

"I thought the goals were the highlight in our performance. I don’t think our general performance was particularly good, but the goals we scored were of a really high level.”

However, Howe also doesn’t want to see any “complacency” in the United dressing room

Howe said: “No, my job’s now to focus on Crystal Palace, so I won’t be soaking anything in.

"But, in terms of the players, last year was very difficult, so it’s just helpful to think back, from the players’ perspective, to not get complacent or to over-react, just to know how quickly football can change. We have to be very conscious of that.”

The Premier League table makes good reading for Newcastle fans, as the team will still be in the top four whatever happens against Chelsea.

Howe, though, insists that he’s still not looking too closely at the placings.

“I don’t tend to analyse it too much,” said Howe. “It’s not really important at this stage of the season.”