NEWCASTLE UNITED turn their attention to the Carabao Cup this week, with Nick Pope admitting the club have ‘unfinished business’ with the competition after their Wembley defeat two seasons ago.

Having claimed a creditable point against Premier League champions Manchester City at the weekend, the Magpies find themselves lining up against League Two opposition tomorrow as AFC Wimbledon visit St James’ Park in the League Cup third round.

The game was switched to Tyneside last week when flooding caused the postponement of the initial fixture in south London, with the winners of tomorrow’s tie knowing they face a home match against Chelsea in round four.

Two seasons ago, Newcastle went all the way to the Carabao Cup final, only to limp to a tame 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Wembley, and Pope admits the disappointment of underperforming so badly in the final still stings.

“I’d like to go one step further,” said the Magpies goalkeeper, who made two crucial late saves to secure his side a point at the weekend. “There’s definitely motivation, for sure, on a personal level and a club. As players, we want to be the group that breaks the years without a trophy.

“The motivation is there for us, definitely. Look, we know it’s been a long time, the fans give us a hell of a lot both home and away and we know how much it means to them. We want to be that group (that wins a trophy).”

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The memory of the 2022 final is especially bitter for Pope, who was forced to sit out the final after being sent off against Liverpool in the week before the game.

With Martin Dubravka cup-tied, Loris Karius was thrust into the starting line-up at Wembley, with Pope forced to watch on helplessly as goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford condemned Newcastle to defeat.

“I try to forget about it,” said Pope. “It’s not great. The first week was difficult, then the game comes around, we had a lot to play for then and still do now. So, there’s very much motivation for myself.

“We need to build on the Man City game and then see where we are. We’ve got a game against Wimbledon here where they will be highly motivated. That’s the next step. It’s a competition we all really want to do well in.”

Wimbledon’s chances of pulling off an upset have clearly been diminished by the switch to St James’ Park, with Newcastle unbeaten on home soil in all competitions since losing to Manchester City in January.

Wimbledon currently sit sixth in the League Two table, albeit with two games in hand on all of the teams above them, but while Eddie Howe will almost certainly make a number of changes to his starting side, Pope insists no one will be taking tomorrow night’s task for granted.

“They are team with a rich history of giant-killing,” he said. “It’s going to be a different test for us, but it’s important for us to get to the next round.”