Newcastle United assistant manager Jason Tindall has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at home against Manchester United (16:30 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
- Tindall gave an update on manager Eddie Howe: "He's been really poorly over the past couple of days, he's been bed-ridden. We've been in contact every day so it's not affected any of the preparations. I'm sure he'll be fine for the weekend."
- He also provided an update on Anthony Gordon's fitness: "He's had a decent week with the physios. He was back out on the grass for a pitch session yesterday. We will assess him today and we will have to make a late call to see if he's available for the bench on Sunday."
- Alexander Isak has trained this week, "feels fine" and is expected to be fit for Sunday, while Joe Willock will not be available as the club follow concussion protocols.
- On two Premier League wins since the Carabao Cup final victory: "When you come off such a high there's always that potential where you could lose focus from the league form that is so important for us. We've delivered two good performances, not our best performances, but the most important thing was getting the results and the lads deserve a lot of credit."
- On the battle for Champions League qualification: "It's really tight. With eight games to go everybody is fighting. All we can control is our performances and what we do. It's important we go into every game and give the best account of ourselves."
- On the challenge posed by Manchester United: "It's another important game for us. We'll prepare the same as we did for Leicester. The lads know how important the game is with only eight games remaining. It's a game we're hoping to do well in and to deliver the performance we know we can to win the game."
- Semi-automated offsides will be used in the Premier League for the first time from this weekend: "Everyone welcomes any change that will make the league better and make these decisions a lot quicker. If it improves the speed of decisions then of course we welcome it for sure."
Listen to Tindall speak to BBC Radio Newcastle here
