Eddie Howe praises 'strong willed' Newcastle United man after bouncing back from disgusting abuse

Last weekend, we had to write about some absolutely vile abuse directed towards a Newcastle United player on social media.

Joe Willock received a torrent of abuse from one 'fan' after his miss against Fulham, which was rightly condemned by the Newcastle fanbase as the club put out a very strong statement in the wake of the abuse.

The matter was handed off to the police, who are investigating.

Meanwhile, Willock bounced back with a starring role in Newcastle's 3-2 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup on Saturday, bagging two goals and sending the Magpies into the fifth round draw.

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Eddie Howe praised Joe Willock in the wake of the vile abuse he received

It is the perfect way for Willock to answer his critics by doing his job on the pitch and not getting dragged down to the level of the absolute pond life who sent him those messages.

It impressed Eddie Howe, who told reporters (via The Sunderland Echo) of how proud he was of how Willock handled himself.

“I think Joe has handled himself this week really well. His response to what he suffered was really admirable, really strong-willed. He loves his football, and I think he’s just concentrated on that this week and tried to put all other distractions behind him. He let his football do the talking.

“Really pleased for him because he’s such a talented lad. You want to see Joe at his best, it’s been a stop-start season for him but today is a big moment I think.

“The two goals are typical Joe. I was really pleased with the second one because from our perspective we didn’t want extra time. It was a second half with not a lot of goalscoring opportunities so we needed to be clinical when they came, and thankfully Joe was.”

Willock may find himself back in the starting lineup on Saturday against Manchester City

We were very impressed with how quickly Willock bounced back, as we can imagine that having things like that sent to you would really affect your mental health and concentration.

Willock could be about to play a bigger role in the team after the weekend, too. With a few players nursing injuries, he could find himself thrust back into the first team.

If he plays with that same drive and determination as he did on Saturday, then it shouldn't be a problem.