EDDIE HOWE is delighted to see Allan Saint-Maximin back to his best – and insists the Frenchman’s determination to succeed at Newcastle United has been the key to him turning his form around.

This has been a difficult season for Saint-Maximin, with a combination of injury, loss of form and the impressive performances delivered by Joelinton in a wide-attacking position meaning he did not make a single Premier League start between the end of August and start of February.

That changed when he returned to the starting line-up for the 1-1 home draw with West Ham, and his starring role in the reverse fixture at the London Stadium on Wednesday means he has not started seven of Newcastle’s last eight league matches.

He also got the nod for the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, and with Howe having been impressed by his performance levels in the last couple of months, he is set to remain in the team that lines up at Brentford tomorrow afternoon.

“I think Maxi has been very focused for a while now,” said the Magpies head coach. “I think he’s trained very well, first and foremost, and that’s always the first aspect of the game that I judge because, for me, that then leads to the performance.

“He’s trained well, he’s been focused and I think he’s really keen for the team to do well. He’s an integral part of our team because he’s slightly different – no one can do what Maxi does. He’s very much an individual, but he’s performing well in a team structure.”

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Earlier in the season, the main criticism levelled at Saint-Maximin was that his performances were not resulting in an end product. That has not been the case in the last couple of games, with his cushioned header for Joe Willock’s opener against Manchester United being followed by the pinpoint cross that enabled Callum Wilson to open the scoring at West Ham.

With intense speculation about his future having built during the January transfer window, it would have been easy for Saint-Maximin to have become distracted or sought an exit route from St James’ Park. Instead, he doubled down in training and fought diligently to win back a place in Howe’s starting side.

“The message to him is that we just want to see the best Maxi possible,” continued Howe. “Now, there’s loads of things that go into making that possible.

“Firstly, the responsibility always lies with the player – I’ve said that so many times when players have improved and developed into having really good seasons for us, they deserve all the credit. So, the responsibility is with him. He’s really focused on doing well at the moment, and it’s great to see.”

Wednesday’s win at West Ham kicked off a run of three consecutive away games that could go a long way towards determining whether or not Newcastle head into the final month of the campaign with a genuine chance of claiming a Champions League spot.

It is a case of so far, so good after Wednesday’s dazzling attacking display at the London Stadium, but things are set to get tougher over the next seven days.

Tomorrow’s game pits Newcastle against a Brentford side whose only Premier League home defeat this season came at the hands of league leaders Arsenal back in September, while next weekend’s trip to Villa Park will see the Magpies line up against an Aston Villa side who have picked up 16 points from their last six games.

“It’s difficult for me to look at it as a block of games,” said Howe. “Now, we’re looking at Brentford. Aston Villa will be a totally unique challenge, and a really tough one because they’re doing brilliantly.

"But Brentford is going to be hard enough, so I don’t think we’ll look at it as a block of games or a group of games. Three away games is quite unique, and it’s a different thing, but it doesn’t really change how we prepare for each one.”

Newcastle (probable, 4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Guimaraes, Longstaff, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Saint-Maximin.