The official reason Bruno Guimaraes was withdrawn for Newcastle United as Eddie Howe fires warning
Bruno Guimaraes cut a frustrated figure as he was substituted for Newcastle United at Southampton
With Newcastle leading 3-1 heading into the closing stages of the match at St Mary’s, Guimaraes was withdrawn for Lewis Miley in the 79th minute. But with the Brazilian missing some training and suffering from an illness ahead of the match, head coach Eddie Howe felt it was the right decision to withdraw the midfielder.
Howe made just one change to his side following the 4-1 defeat against Bournemouth with Fabian Schar coming into the side in place of Sven Botman.
“It's a difficult team to get into at the moment,” Howe admitted. “We've won 10 out of 11, so we've got some very, very good players not playing and naturally frustrated.
“Bruno didn't want to come off [against Southampton], but he'd been ill in the week and felt it was only right just to try and make sure we've got him available for next week.”
Howe went on to fire a firm but friendly warning to his players who may be frustrated at a lack of first-team minutes to make the most of their chances when they do get on the pitch.
“When you do get your chance on the pitch, you have to play well,” the Newcastle boss added. I think that's the biggest thing and that's my big message to everybody within the squad.
“If you're upset - when you get your chance, play well.”
Newcastle’s 3-1 win took them above Chelsea and back up to fifth in the Premier League table after 23 games, winning seven of their last eight. Next up for The Magpies is Fulham at St James’ Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off) before the vital Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at home to Arsenal.