Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says he can sense a lift around the club after their FA Cup win at Sunderland.

Howe was speaking ahead of tomorrow's clash with Manchester City.

He said: "When you go back to the Sunderland game, it was the first time in a while that players looked fresh and back to themselves.

"I don't think we realised until looking back to previous games that we were playing fatigued during that period and players didn't look right.

"Against Sunderland we looked back to our old selves and I hope to see that again. Hopefully you'll see a much more Newcastle-like performance.

"The whole experience of the day was really well co-ordinated. There was minimal trouble as far as I'm aware of and that was really important. It's important that fans get to the game and make it home safe.

"Then of course the welcome back at the training ground was really nice to see and it's an appreciation of the players and their performance. How they conducted themselves on the pitch was at the highest level.