Howe admits he didn't want to play Newcastle's man against Tottenham

Newcastle United continue to build on their fantastic start to the season, and suddenly find themselves in the top four.

They ran out deserved winners at Tottenham Hotspur yesterday, defeating Antonio Conte’s side 2-1 away from home.

Howe was understandably very pleased with his team’s performance as they extended their unbeaten run to seven games.

There was another piece of good news for Newcastle fans after Howe gave one member of his squad his first appearance of the season.

Jonjo Shelvey was brought on by Howe in the closing moments to replace Bruno Guimaraes.

Howe admitted after the match he didn’t want to play Shelvey, but Guimaraes was in danger of being sent off.

He only managed four touches, and completed just a single pass, but Shelvey helped Newcastle see out the game.

Howe didn’t want to play Shelvey yesterday

“It was really pleasing. I didn’t want to bring him on the pitch to be honest, because he hasn’t played a huge amount of training,” Howe said.

“It was, I wouldn’t say a risk, but I wanted to protect him and give him a little longer to continue his rehab.

“But the time was right, the team needed him, and I thought he came on and did really well.”

The £12m midfielder had a disrupted pre-season after undergoing hamstring surgery in August.

The original plan was for Shelvey to return after the World Cup, but his recovery has been brilliant.

Howe said ahead of Newcastle’s win over Everton that Shelvey looked fitter than he’d ever seen him before.

It’s no surprise that Howe wants to carefully manage Shelvey’s return to action given how long he’s been unavailable.

Newcastle have four matches left before the World Cup break, including a Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace.

Howe may have not wanted to play Shelvey yesterday, but he has plenty of opportunities between now and the World Cup to build up his fitness.