EDDIE HOWE felt the final stages of Newcastle United’s 5-1 win over Sheffield United provided proof that Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson are capable of starring in the same side.

Throughout their time together at St James’ Park, Isak and Wilson have rarely been on the pitch together at the same time. The pair have both suffered from a succession of injury issues, while Howe has tended to start with one or the other in the central-attacking role.

Isak started yesterday’s game, and weighed in with two goals as Newcastle came from behind to win, with Wilson also scoring after leaving the bench midway through the second half.

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It remains to be seen whether the attacking duo feature in the same starting line-up in the remaining four games of the season, but Howe clearly regards such a move as a viable possibility.

“It was great to see Alex link with Callum at the end, in the latter stages of the game,” said the Magpies boss. “It was really good to see both of them passing to each other, having that synergy and understanding with each other, so it was a really good day for both players.

“I thought Callum was looking really great, and he looked great when he came on. He could have scored more, but the one he did get was an incredible finish. To see him and Alex link in the way they did, and see how threatening they were on the pitch together was a great sign for us.”

Newcastle overcame a poor first-half showing to claim a much-needed win yesterday, with Howe admitting that the half-time interval turned out to be a crucial period for his side.

“We knew half-time was going to be important for us,” he said. “I think in the first half, we were well off it, probably a little bit of tiredness from midweek, the first game in a while and then of course a very quick turn-around.

“But we knew it was going to be a difficult game, we knew Sheffield United were going to turn up and fight with everything they had to stay in the Premier League.

“They put a lot of balls in behind our backline and we struggled to deal with them and we were lucky to come in at half-time level, and that was probably the big thing for us. It enabled us to settle down a few things and come up with a much better performance.”