Newcastle have decided to ditch a former club tradition by scrapping plans for an open-top bus parade should they LOSE to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday. The call comes after St James’ Park icon Alan Shearer detailed his embarrassment at experiencing the parade following the 1998 and 1999 FA Cup final defeats to Arsenal and United at the old Wembley.
Now the Magpies are out to make amends for the defeat by winning their first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup.
And if they are to get the better of Erik ten Hag’s side this weekend, they have an exciting open-top parade of the Toon to look forward to on Tuesday.
The Mail have now revealed that Newcastle won’t be doing the parade if they lose the match, however – unlike times of old.
It’s understood Shearer’s recent comments are believed to have influenced the decision although there is a sense that the former tradition is now very much dated.
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Newcastle will have to overcome significant obstacles if they are to come up trumps on Sunday against in-form United.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope will miss the match through suspension after he handed the ball outside of the area in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool last Saturday.
With Martin Dubravka cup tied and Karl Darlow out on loan at Hull City, Loris Karius is in line to make his Magpies debut should he receive the nod over Mark Gillespie.
Eddie Howe has backed the former Liverpool goalkeeper to step up to the plate if required – stating he has now discussed the 2018 Champions League final with the German since his arrival on Tyneside.
“I’ve never really discussed [the 2018 final] at any length with him,” Howe told Sky Sports.
“We’ve all got stuff that’s happened in our careers and our histories that you learn from and he’s no different in that respect.
“Since day one, since he’s come here, he started where he hadn’t had a lot of work before joining us, he’s trained with our goalkeeper coaches in a really good way and I think his general performances in training have improved as he’s spent more time with us.
“I think he’s in a good place and he’s ready to play.”