EDDIE HOWE has challenged his Newcastle United players to kick on again in the next two months to ensure Sunday’s victory over Manchester United is not regarded as the high point of the season.

Howe led the full-time celebrations at St James’ Park at the weekend, with second-half goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson having lifted the Magpies back into the top four.

The victory helped Newcastle gain some revenge for February’s Carabao Cup final defeat at Wembley at the hands of Manchester United, and represented a first home victory over a top-four side this season.

Howe readily admits it was an especially sweet success, but with 11 games still to play, he does not want it to be the defining moment of the campaign.

“We’re in a good position and we’re aware of that,” said Howe, ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to the London Stadium to take on West Ham. “But we’ve got massive games to come.

“We can’t let one win against Manchester United be the high point of our season. We’ve got to look forward and relish the games that are coming our way and the challenge of excelling as much as we can in the remainder of the season.”

Newcastle’s performances against the leading teams in the league have been a marked step forward this season. January’s battling draw at Arsenal was a creditable result, and while the Magpies might have been well beaten at the Etihad last month, their 3-3 home draw with Manchester City back in August was one of their best results of the campaign.

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They have now beaten Manchester United for the first time since 2019, with Howe’s positive tactics having been a major factor in the victory. Whereas previous Newcastle managers have adopted safety-first tactics against top-four opposition, often switching to five at the back in an attempt to shut up shop, Howe is adamant he will not be taking a backwards step no matter who his side is lining up against.

“It’s important, for me, that we haven’t changed our approach too much, no matter who we’ve been playing,” he said. “It hasn’t really mattered too much where we’re playing or who we’re playing against.

“That’s important, because if you change too much in certain games, you risk losing your identity. We’ve tried to be very consistent, and we’ve tried to show the best of ourselves regardless of who we’ve been up against.

“We’ve had mixed success against the top opponents this year – some good results and some bad ones too – but hopefully, and this is the big thing, we’re improving for each experience that we have.”

The win saw Newcastle leapfrog their opponents, and provided an ideal start to a difficult week that continues with back-to-back away games at West Ham and Brentford.

“It was a big win because we’re running out of games now,” he said. “There’s not many left, and not many chances to maximise things."