Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has made an honest admission about Manchester City, in a chat with Gary Neville on The Overlap.

Howe sat down with the Sky Sports pundit to talk about tactics, and how he tries to get his Magpies team to play.

Newcastle are trying to break the mould in the Premier League following their takeover in 2022, and Howe is ultimately seeking to turn his side into title contenders.

He got Newcastle into the Champions League for this season, but has come up short this term with Europa League now the most likely outcome for them.

Newcastle have been decimated by injuries in 2023/24 which has made life very difficult. But next term there will be real optimism from their fans as there have been some good signs, and they have some good players. Bruno Guimaraes being one, with Manchester City said to be keen on him.

Howe is keen to build Newcastle in his own image, but made an admission about Manchester City…

Eddie Howe admits he looks to ‘take little things’ from Manchester City

City stand to win two trophies this month.

Pep Guardiola‘s side are still fighting for the Premier League title against Arsenal, with their fate in their own hands.

There is also the FA Cup final with Manchester United to come.

Fans are optimistic there will be a double on the cards when all is said and done, and that would be a phenomenal achievement.

These days, City are the benchmark given all their success – and Newcastle boss Howe admits that he ‘certainly’ tries to take little things from City tactically.

He told Gary Neville in a new episode of The Overlap: “I think they are very much talent based, they have individuals who can make a real difference, real base on transitions.

“I am not necessarily looking at them too tactically I don’t think, it’s more Man City. You are always looking at Man City, not that I would ever look at them, because they are so different to us, and take too much, but you can certainly take little things and I respect what they do immensely.”

City are the benchmark

Obviously, Newcastle have their own style and ways of operating. But clearly, Howe is looking at City and trying to incorporate some things that Pep does to try and gain an edge.

He will not be the only manager doing this, because City are the benchmark these days.

Pep has established the club as a dominant force, not only in England but in Europe as well.

His side play brilliant football but also work their socks off, and Pep is always trying different things tactically, whether it be playing with inverted full-backs or pushing a centre-back in midfield.

Playing out from the back has been a major part of City’s style since Pep came in. Neville said recently that this was something that has filtered down the footballing pyramid with a lot of teams now trying to copy that particular tactic.

Pep has had huge success during his time in England, and it is little wonder he has fellow managers looking to take ideas to try and improve their own teams.

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