EDDIE HOWE understands why Chris Wood will be desperate to claim his first goal for Newcastle United, but insists the striker is making exactly the kind of contribution he hoped for when he agreed to shell out £25m to sign him from Burnley last month.

Wood will make his fifth Magpies start when he lines up against West Ham tomorrow afternoon, and while Newcastle’s results have improved markedly in the last month, the New Zealander has not really looked like scoring.

His best chance to break his duck appeared to have come when Newcastle were awarded a penalty in last weekend’s game with Aston Villa, but although he immediately picked up the ball and headed towards the spot, his hopes of finding the net were dashed when a VAR check overturned Craig Pawson’s decision to award a spot-kick.

Howe can understand Wood’s desperation to end his barren run, but having instructed the 30-year-old to tie up opposition defenders and kickstart Newcastle’s high press, the Magpies boss has been delighted with his January signing’s impact.

“I think, without speaking on Chris’ behalf, that he would love to score,” said Howe. “But I don’t think that’s a secret - you ask any player in the team and they’d love to score.

“The most important thing for me is that Chris is helping the team and making the team play better and, for me, from day one, he has.

"All the things that maybe people don’t see - his ability to help us keep the ball in the opposition’s half, his ability to make defenders, not just one but both, compete with him and distract from other players in the team.

“I think he’s been a huge physical presence for us, he’s worked extremely hard. His delivery of our tactical plan, from the pressing side, which we’ve really excelled in over the past three games, if your number nine doesn’t deliver that right, then the whole thing breaks down. I think he’s been excellent in that respect.”