Eddie Howe gave his press conference for Sunday’s game at Manchester City just after our 3-1 loss to Liverpool. Much of his briefing was linked to the growing number of positive Covid cases in the league.
There have already been quite a few games postponed due to the Covid epidemics. Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones were missing from Liverpool last night after positive Covid tests.
There have already been five matches postponed for this weekend. Having been forced to watch his first game at the helm of Newcastle from his hotel room, Howe is well aware of the potential gravity of this situation.
Howe was asked about this situation and here is his response:
“I think it’s probably the edge of a knife that would be my verdict on this. When you start to lose players to Covid, the concern for me is that the competition gets a little unfair.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see this. I think that’s the most important thing, people want to see a fair league. They don’t want to see a disparity in games and missing players.
“I know we all want the product to continue. I am desperate to continue the program myself, but I believe that the well-being of the players and the fans must come first.
“I know Premier League officials will. There is a lot to consider. It is not an easy decision to make. I am well aware of the complexity of everything.
“We will follow the directions given to us and see what happens. “
There is also news this morning that Pep Guardiola has canceled his press conference ahead of our Sunday game due to an inconclusive Covid test result. It might be better if this weekend’s Premier League games were postponed as this situation is starting to snowball.
