Newcastle striker Callum Wilson determined to take out frustration on Brentford

By Damian Spellman, PA

Newcastle striker Callum Wilson is determined to take out his frustration on Brentford after missing out on the chance of a first hat-trick for the club.

The 31-year-old England frontman marked his return to head coach Eddie Howe’s starting line-up with a double – his seventh for the Magpies – inside 46 minutes in Wednesday night’s 5-1 romp at West Ham.

However, Wilson, whose last top-flight treble came for former club Bournemouth against Huddersfield in November 2017, was philosophical when asked about his disappointment when he was replaced by Alexander Isak with 26 minutes remaining.

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He said: “We have another game in a couple of days, so the manager made his decision and I respect that.

“As a striker, you always want to score as many as possible, especially in a game like West Ham. But it wasn’t to be and hopefully we can take it into the weekend.”

Isak, who had started Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Manchester United ahead of Wilson, also struck after coming off the bench at the London Stadium with Joelinton scoring twice on his return from suspension to hand Howe an enviable selection dilemma for Saturday’s clash with the Bees.

Asked if football has become a 60-minute game for the modern striker, the 45-year-old said: “Yes, to a point.

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— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 6, 2023

“I would never say to a player, ‘You’re going to play 60 minutes, you’re a 60-minute player’. I don’t think that’s healthy for their brains.

“But certainly the way the game is going, the way that we want to play, I don’t think that’s a bad thing for me in a game, to make that change at that time. I think it gives the player coming on to the pitch long enough to get into the game.

“But I think it all depends on the game, the situation and what players you have. As I’ve said many times, Callum and Alex can play together as well, so it’s not just a case of one or the other. I do see a time and a place where they’ll be on the pitch at the same time.”

Newcastle will run out at the Gtech Community Stadium looking to build upon the four-game winning run which has cemented them in third place in the table with a third successive away fixture at Aston Villa awaiting them next weekend.

Howe said: “Aston Villa will be a totally unique challenge, a really tough one because they’re doing brilliantly at the moment.

“But Brentford is going to be hard enough, so I don’t think we look at it as a block of games or a group of games. Three away games is quite unique and it’s a different thing, but it doesn’t really change how we prepare for each one.”

Howe has big decisions to make over Wilson and Isak and Joelinton and Joe Willock, with January signing Anthony Gordon pushing and only Emil Krafth and Miguel Almiron missing through injury.