Ryan Fraser says he is just trying to help Newcastle United whatever way he can after being limited to just 34 minutes of action so far this season. The Scotland international recovered from a back injury to play his part against Wolves at Molineux. Fraser could come back into contention if Allan Saint-Maximin is ruled out with a hamstring problem picked up at the end of the game on Sunday.
Ryan Fraser said: “Before this (Wolves) I played around six minutes so it was nice to get out there again and help the team the best I could. It was a good result for the lads in the end. Football is football but I just try to enjoy it and work hard then will see what will be. The lads are plugging on and now we have a big game on Wednesday.”
Newcastle remain unbeaten and could have won it against Wolves had they not been denied by the woodwork and saw a Fabian Schar free-kick go wide. When asked if it was a good point Fraser offered up his opinion.
Ryan Fraser said: “Yeah I think so, I don’t see why not. “Obviously the first half was a little bit more in favour of them. They did well and we probably didn’t stick to our game plan as much as we should have. Then second half we pinned them back a bit more. “They are obviously going to hit us on the counter attack but I think we deserved it.”
Fraser is also prepared to work hard and win his place back. Speaking about getting back into the team,
Ryan Fraser said: “We’ll see. I am just enjoying it and like I say I’d rather we just win games than look at things from a personal point of view. When I get back in the team I will try my best.”
The is also keen to get back into the Scotland set-up. Speaking about the prospect of a call-up for two UEFA Nations League games against Ukraine and a home match with the Republic of Ireland,
Ryan Fraser added: “Yeah I don’t see why not. Obviously, that’s three weeks away the next game. I don’t know if I am in his (Steve Clarke) thoughts. We will see, I probably need to start playing a little bit more. Obviously, the other boys are doing well for their clubs. Do I deserve to be picked on form? Probably not.” Other boys are playing and doing well and should be ahead of me. If I am honest about it, if I do well in the next two weeks hopefully that can change. I want to go and play for Scotland and want to score goals. A couple of years ago I done really well for them so we will see.”
Eddie Howe says that having money to spend has not changed his outlook as a football manager.
Eddie Howe said: “I feel exactly the same to be honest. In the early days, we were looking at free transfers and out of contract players. You are still trying to find the right fit for your team. You are trying to find the right character to fit into your group. It doesn’t change – the process is the same. What does change is the perception because you are paying big sums of money for players. But the process doesn’t change. You want to try to find the right player and visualise that play in your team and what he will bring. Money is really irrelevant. “It is just dealing with you guys (the media) really that’s the big difference.”
Howe was left frustrated at Bournemouth when he was forced to work under a transfer embargo while keeping the purse strings tight in his early days also proved a frustration.
Eddie Howe added: “I think there are loads that stand out. There was Charlie Austin who I couldn’t sign for Bournemouth even though he was training with us. We were under a transfer embargo. That was one of the challenges I faced as a manager where I couldn’t sign a player for a year. That was an early sign of the challenges I faced as a manager. It forced me to get the best out of what I had, and sticks with me today. It’s never about the money. It is about the player. Loads of examples of my early days at Bournemouth, Brett Pitman, Arthur Boruc and Mark Pugh, players I signed for very little but gave me great service.”
