'Everyone's loving it': Harvey Barnes insists Newcastle United will be ready for every game as hectic fixture list continues
Newcastle United have played more games this season than any other team in Europe's top five leagues, and yet they ran Barcelona ragged last night.
The fixture list for Newcastle has been relentless this season, and it has taken its toll on Eddie Howe's squad. There's no doubt about that, but for the most part at least, the lads have given everything in every game.
Of course, there have been games where we've looked miles off it, but we'd have those games anyway; that's just part of football. Eddie Howe and the players have never directly pointed towards the cramped fixture list as an excuse for poor performances.
It's a strange one for fans, too, as we get to watch Newcastle in action every three or four days, but there's also a part of us desperate to see the lads given a break to recover and get some work in on the training ground, too.
Harvey Barnes is loving the relentless fixtures
Harvey Barnes addressed the fixture congestion in an interview with local journalist Daniel Wales after the 1-1 draw with Barcelona last night, insisting that the players are loving it.
"It's tough. They come thick and fast; you've just got to prepare, recover. That's sort of been our last few months.
"There's been no rest, but it's what the lads want to do, everyone's loving it. Let's get ready for the next game, it's another big one."
Newcastle United need to solve this paradox
This is ultimately where Newcastle want to be. Going the distance in every competition, but once again, there's a strong feeling that we've over-achieved.
We're in this position well before we're actually ready to be, and we're paying the price for it. We need much more squad depth before we can do this consistently.
The catch is, of course, that to attract the right players to do this consistently, we need to be doing this consistently. The ultimate football paradox that we've got to solve at some point.
