Newcastle United players displayed “the same mistakes” during their 3-1 defeat to Everton in their recent pre-season match, according to former player Steve Howey.

With the Premier League set to return next week, Howey remarked that coach Matthias Jaissle’s squad must address recurring issues from the previous season.

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“I felt a bit disappointed at half-time as these are the familiar players who will likely start against Liverpool – and they are repeating the same mistakes,” Howey stated during an interview with BBC Radio Newcastle post-match.

“They’re not capitalizing on chances—some are half-chances, but others are more significant opportunities. When the ball arrives, they need to make it stick instead of letting it bounce away. It’s frustrating because we witnessed these problems last season. Although the World Cup disrupted training, there’s still time to refine these issues. Improvement won’t happen overnight; it will require time. It’s disappointing because the same players keep making the same errors.”

“They’ll take a short break to recover, then resume training with two more games before the season kicks off. Each player will need to assess if they are ready collectively and individually, but regardless, the season is approaching fast.”

Listen to the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here

Newcastle players were making the “same mistakes” in their 3-1 loss to Everton in pre-season on Wednesday, says former Magpies defender Steve Howey.

The Premier League returns next week and Howey believes Matthias Jaissle’s side need the time to work on the same issues from last season.

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“I was just a little bit disappointed at half-time because it’s familiar players – the players that will be making the starting line-up against Liverpool – that are making the same mistakes again,” Howey told BBC Radio Newcastle after the match.

“And I’m talking missing chances, even though they might be half-chances and some of them were but some of them were more than half-chances.

“When you’ve got the ball getting drilled into you, make it stick, but it’s bouncing off players, and I’m just thinking we used to see that last season. And I know there’s been the World Cup, and you have still got time to work on these things – it’s not going to improve straight away, it’s going to take time. But it was just annoying because it is the same players making the same mistakes again.

“They’ll have a little bit of a breather as such, they’ll stretch off and do whatever they have to do, but then go again at the weekend with the two games before getting really ready for the start of the season. Only they’ll know individually and collectively if they’re ready, but whether they’re ready or not, it’s coming.”

Listen the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here