Eddie Howe reveals illness in Newcastle United squad, Dan Burn makes 's***housery' comments ahead of Athletic Club UEFA Champions League clash

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe could be left with a depleted squad for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League match against Athletic Club - which will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Illness has left several players in doubt for the fixture, while Dan Burn has called on The Magpies to be nastier in their search for improved form after Sunday's defeat to West Ham United.

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Eddie Howe said several Newcastle United players are suffering from illness ahead of their UEFA Champions League meeting with Athletic Club on Wednesday.

The Magpies are looking to make it three wins from four in the league phase against their Basque opponents at St James' Park - with live coverage on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 19:45 UK time.

But they could be without some key players - including midfielder Bruno Guimaraes - through an unspecified illness.

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"There's been a bit of illness going through the squad, that's various players that have picked something up," Howe said in his pre-match press conference.

"Sandro [Tonali] initially, Jacob Murphy, Kieran Trippier and now Bruno [Guimaraes]. We're making a decision on Bruno tomorrow.

"He's such an important player for us and he's clearly not been himself, and that's why he missed training."

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Howe stressed the significance of the match after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to strugglers West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday.

"It's a really important game for us as we know what we have ahead in the Champions League," he said.

"Athletic Club will be stiff opposition. Defensively, they are really well organised and they have delivered some strong performances this year.

"But Champions League nights here are always special."

He added: "We are right in the midst of a run of games that are hugely enjoyable and hugely challenging.

"We are hugely disappointed with our inconsistency in the Premier League. Results-wise, our recent run has been pretty strong, but because we have so many competitions, we haven't strung them together in the Premier League.

"I think when you produce a performance like we did against West Ham, you have to use that as a turning point. You have to be articulate and explain to the players what they have to do better.

"It's a return to the basic fundamentals of how we play and then hoping we perform at a really high level."

Burn: Newcastle need to get back to s***housery

Defender Dan Burn urged his team-mates to rediscover the mentality of previous seasons and admitted there have been "uncomfortable conversations".

"Normally, when you have a bad game, one or two players can carry that, but I think the whole team really had a bad day [against West Ham] and let the team down.

"We haven't won in nine away games and it is something the manager is working on to understand why we haven't been performing away from home.

"The frustrating thing is we know we'll be up for the Champions League tomorrow at home, the fans will be buzzing and we need to find a replicate that away from home.

"It is very easy to get up for these games and the Champions League nights. These other games, like Brentford on Sunday, are where we need to earn our money.

"We've got lads in there that can do it and will do it, but we are not putting the performances in away from home."

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On the team's mentality, he added: "We were well known a few years ago for using some 's***housery' but we have not done that well enough at the moment.

"The first year we made the Champions League, we were more of an underdog and teams didn't respect us as much as they should do.

"We could win ugly and bully teams, but as you progress you move away from that when you get better quality players and you change the way you play. But Arsenal are really good at doing that, as well as playing good football, and are top of the league.

"You can still have an underdog mentality when you are not the underdog. The best teams in the world have the ability to do that."

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