Eddie Howe admits he does NOT want Newcastle to play Tottenham in Australia just THREE days after the end of the Premier League season… but concedes 21,000-mile round-trip for controversial friendly could help the club

Eddie Howe has admitted he didn’t want Newcastle to go on their post-season trip to Australia.

Howe has added to concerns raised by England boss Gareth Southgate ahead of the Magpies flying halfway round the world to face Tottenham Hotspur as part of a two-match visit at the end of May.

Howe’s troops are due to jet Down Under for the prestige friendly in Melbourne three days after their final Premier League game of the season at Brentford.

Southgate has already voiced his concerns about burn-out for Newcastle and Spurs players who are in contention for a place in his squad for European Championships this summer. 

Toon duo Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon are hopeful of making the final cut for the Euro 24 finals in Germany in June.

Newcastle will face Spurs in Melbourne three days after the end of the season 

Both clubs are signed up to take full squads on the 21,000-mile round trip, and Howe is worried about the added demands on his players at the end of a campaign decimated by injuries to key players.

Asked if he actually wanted to go, the Newcastle boss said: ‘I don’t think it’s something that being honest in my position saying I want to go. This is something from a physical perspective after a long season we probably wouldn’t want to do.’

Spurs are set to return to the UK following the game, but Newcastle will remain for an exhibition match with the A-League All Stars on May 24. England gather the following week to begin their pre-Euros camp with a friendly against Bosnia at St James’s Park on June 3.

Howe is ready to put his concerns aside to take part in friendlies that will help raise revenue for the club in addition to boosting Newcastle’s profile around the globe.

He added: ‘I understand the club’s position and we will back it. If the club say we’re going then I’m in 100 per cent in with everybody else.

England boss Gareth Southgate (left) has voiced concerns over the friendly, but Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou believes the game is a great opportunity for both clubs

‘There are different trains of thoughts here. We have to act in the best interests of the football club and sometimes we’re told to do certain things. 

‘You do that with the best interests of the club at heart.

‘We respect the club and we respect the demands that the club is moving forward very quickly and we have to keep a pace with everything the club wants to do. So when asked to do such things we’ll do it with the best attitude that we can.’