Eddie Howe has expressed his frustration after Newcastle United suffered their third consecutive pre-season loss after defeat against the K-League XI.
Kim Jin-gyu’s first half goal was the difference maker in Suwon, in a game that will mostly be remembered for a promising cameo from debuting youngster Seung-soo Park, and a serious-looking injury for Joe Willock.
Spurs in Seoul are next this Sunday, before the Sela Cup double header at St James’ Park, but today’s performance won’t have filled many fans with hope ahead of the upcoming season.
Here’s what the gaffer had to say about Wednesday’s game and why he feels like we struggled to play well against K-League stars already midway through their season.
Speaking to the media after the match, Howe felt we lacked the sharpness and experience to compete in humid conditions against a Korean side already midway through the K-League season.
“You could tell that they (K-League players) have that sharpness, also the experience, of playing in this heat as well. They are two huge factors.”
“I thought that our performance got better in the second half and that was a really pleasing thing.”
“The first half we started really well, then we faded a little bit in terms of our attacking intent.”
With many of our players still a bit rusty after a draining campaign last season, every minute played right now is valuable, even if it means suffering a defeat in a game we were very much expected to win.
But despite the losses so far, Howe has praised the pre-season schedule for helping his players best prepare for the season ahead, welcoming tough tests in tricky conditions.
After today we have three big friendlies ahead: Spurs in Seoul, and then the Sela Cup double-header against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid.
It’s a tough trio of games, particularly with us lacking any major momentum heading into the first against Spurs, but Howe seems at least thankful that the team has been handed some big tests and been forced to work hard even at this stage of the season.
“I always say during pre-season games, you want the tougher examinations.
“You want the opposition to be of a really good level. I think we always knew today would be really difficult.”
“Of course we want to win, we want to score goals, but the most important thing is to come through it and be ready for us to be there (for the start of the season against Aston Villa).”
“When you come on these tours, you know we’re not necessarily organising everything. We have gone a difficult route in terms of a pre-season game programme but hopefully that will benefit us when the season kicks off.”
Speaking to NUFC TV after the game, Howe also added:
💬 Boss – “Physically, we got everything we wanted from the game.” pic.twitter.com/sFEvWcdeg3
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) July 30, 2025
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