This Newcastle United player who's given Eddie Howe something to think about on tour

Eddie Howe’s side beat 1860 Munich 3-0 yesterday – and all three goals came after the break.

Howe felt that his side was tired after their exertions in Austria – United’s head coach has been putting on double sessions – and the team looked fresher when he put his internationals on for the last 30 minutes.

Newcastle’s opponents, further on in their pre-season campaign, had the better of the first half.

They slowed the game down – and that frustrated Howe.

Slow progress

“The first-half was difficult,” said Howe. “They were clearly trying to slow the game down, which is their right. The referee didn’t help because we wanted a quick game. We wanted high tempo, a lot of running, a lot of transition work but it wasn’t there in the first half.”

“We didn’t really get what we wanted but we didn’t really help ourselves in that. I thought we were lethargic but we have worked the players very hard this week.

“They’ve been tested in a lot of different ways, so we knew we were coming into the game fatigued and that showed during the first period.”

Newcastle took the lead through Joe Willock after the break, and the tempo was raised further after the hour-mark when Howe made 10 changes.

Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff drove the team forward following their introduction. And Guimaraes and Longstaff were on target for a dominant United, who comfortably saw the game out.

"That was the plan for those players,” said Howe. “We hand-picked the players we felt, at this stage, could play longer and needed to protect a bit more, mostly the international boys have had less training.

Midfield drive

"The international boys playing half an hour looked fresher – and their performance was very, very good.

"We're very pleased with the last part of the game. The first 60 minutes, as I say, I think we were a little bit fatigued."

Longstaff, in particular, caught the eye, and the midfielder, on this evidence, will give Howe a decision to make for the club’s Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on August 6.

Guimaraes and Joelinton, if fit, will surely start the game, and Longstaff will challenge Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock for a place in Howe's three-man midfield.

Elsewhere, Sven Botman, signed from Lille for £35million this summer, looked comfortable in defence following his half-time introduction. The 22-year-old replaced captain Jamaal Lascelles, who had taken a knock before the break.

Defensive presence

"He’s a presence,” said Howe. “He’s a really good size, his technical ability has been evident from day one in pre-season. His ability to play not just long passes, but short passes. He’s very, very composed.

"I’ve been very pleased with his impact on the group in a short period of time. I think he’ll be very pleased with today.”

The question now is who Botman will partner in the centre of defence this season?

Howe, interestingly, suggested after the game that left-footed Botman could play on the right side – given him yet another option.

Newcastle’s squad isn’t complete yet – Howe wants a couple more players – but the in certain areas it’s looking very strong.