Premier League boss skips press conference as assistant forced to stand in

Newcastle boss was forced to miss his pre-match press conference through illness with assistant Jason Tindall having to step in. The Magpies will host on Sunday but their manager couldn't conduct his usual media duties.

His absence isn't serious and he's expected to be on the touchline at St James' Park come the weekend. continued their push for the top five, which will guarantee football, with a win at on Monday.

Already this season Howe's side have dispatched of the Manchester outfit, , and completing the double would further their push as they look to build on their historic Carabao Cup triumph last week.

Tindall has been by Howe's side throughout his time in Newcastle, where he's turned the club from relegation candidates to a Champions League side, owing in part to their Saudi-backing. The north east outfit have won four of their last five games with Tindall confident they can continue building.

He addressed Howe's absence and said: "He's been really poorly the last couple of days in bed. We've been in daily contact. We've been speaking three or four times a day so it's not affected any of the preparations. We've still got a couple of days and I'm sure he'll be fine for the weekend."

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Tindall has confirmed that Anthony Gordon is in contention to return for Sunday's clash having spent several weeks on the sidelines, but any call on the winger won't be made until the eleventh hour. Tindall said: "He's had a decent week with the physios. He was back out on grass for a session yesterday so we'll assess him today to see how he's responded to that then we'll have to make a late call on whether he's available for Sunday."

The Newcastle assistant said on their challenge: "With eight games to go, there are a lot of teams fighting for the same as what we are. All we can control is our own performances and what we do, the most important thing is that we approach every game as we have done all season and give the best account of ourselves. Hopefully that will be enough to achieve our end goal."

Newcastle still face some daunting tasks in the final weeks of the season. They have to travel to and - both teams who also share their ambition of Champions League football. A trip to is also on the horizon, albeit they may have little to play for domestically.

The Magpies also host , who are firmly in the mix, with a game against at St James' Park their final assignment of the season.

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