Eddie Howe will take Newcastle United 'back to basics' this week ahead of tough Nottingham Forest challenge

Eddie Howe has a lot of work to do between now and next Sunday when Nottingham Forest visit St James' Park to take on Newcastle United.

We all remember last season when Chris Wood bagged a hat-trick at St James' Park. We can't allow Forest to run riot at home again.

After yesterday's dismal showing at Manchester City, Eddie Howe knows it's not going to be easy and has vowed to go back to basics.

As a club fighting for a top-four spot, going into a cup final, and still competing in another cup competition, the idea that we have to re-learn the basics at this point in the season is a huge issue.

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Eddie Howe will not accept the Carabao Cup distraction as an excuse

Howe has spoken about the distraction of the Carabao Cup final, and he told reporters (via The Shields Gazette) that he'll not be accepting that as an excuse.

“If [having one eye on the final] is the case, we're in trouble, because our Premier League season will be over really by the time that final comes around, it can't be the focus.

“It's on the horizon, it should be a positive, it shouldn't be a negative distraction for us. I'd encourage the players to look at it that way, it's an excitement, but we have to go back to work, and work is the Premier League the day in, day out.

“We have to perform better, that's three of our last performances in the Premier League that haven't been good enough, and they've all had similar traits in them. So, yeah, back to basics for us, I think, for next week [ahead of Forest].”

Players should be using the Carabao Cup as motivation

Howe is absolutely spot on. The Carabao Cup final should be a motivator, not a distraction. We get the desire to make sure you're fit and able to play in the final, but it's hardly professional half-arsing your current job because you've got a more exciting task coming down the line.

Hopefully, a week is long enough for them to study every detail of what went wrong yesterday and in previous games and put it right because Nottingham Forest were beaten yesterday, and they are pretty good at bouncing back.

We've all got to keep the faith, as hard as it is after that showing yesterday.