Joe Willock reveals Newcastle United struggles and how Eddie Howe, and a four-legged 'best friend', helped him overcome them

Willock arrived at Newcastle from Arsenal for £25million in August and expectations were high after he scored eight goals in 14 appearances whilst on loan with The Magpies last season.

But in the opening months of the 2021-22 campaign, the 22-year-old was unable to recapture the dazzling form of his loan spell as he failed to register a goal or an assist.

Not to be deterred, Willock continued to work hard under head coach Eddie Howe and took his opportunity following a recall to the side at Leeds United in January.

Since then, both Willock’s and Newcastle’s form has vastly improved as the midfielder scored twice during the nine game unbeaten run that saw the side climb up to 14th in the Premier League table.

“I didn't have the start that I wanted but it has turned around and now I'm getting back to what I know I can do,” Willock admitted.

“That's football, sometimes it doesn't go how you want it to and I'm happy that I had a brilliant manager that came in and stuck by me and gave me so much advice and brilliant players around me to help me to get me to the levels I can.

"When I'm happy and when I'm playing happy, I know I can be one of the best in my position. That's something I need to continue doing and continue working hard.”

Howe’s impact since his arrival at Newcastle in November has been almost unanimously praised by the players, and Willock is no different.

He was out-of-form when Howe arrived – but some tough love, hard work and many conversations have helped the former Arsenal midfielder rediscover his form.

“With me, he took the route of putting his arm around me and speaking to me,” Willock told nufc.co.uk. “He was hard on me when he needed to be and talking to me when he needed to, which is something that has benefited me so much.

"Everyone knows, he's really tactical and he's helped me on the pitch loads which has also helped as well. It's a mixture of everything, all the players, not just me, can go and speak to him.

"He's a very humble man and that's something that we all appreciate and we all have confidence in him. That's helped me and everyone else as well.”

As a London boy, growing up playing for Arsenal’s academy and breaking into the first-team – making a 250-mile move to the North East was bound to take some getting used to for Willock.

“If I'm really honest, I wasn't settled in at the start and I didn't feel like it was as easy as it would have been,” he admitted.

“Coming on loan was a bit easier because I knew I was going back to London and going to see my family but coming here permanently and signing a long-term contract was a totally different mindset and hard to adapt to.

"But, as I said, having a brilliant group and a brilliant staff to help me settle in, brilliant people around, brilliant fans, it's all helped me to get to the place where I need to be mentally to settle in and I'm glad I can show that on the pitch.”

Away from football, Willock is enjoying living with his dad, Charles and new dog Teddy as he is now starting to feel at home in the North East.

“I don't have my friends around me too much so to have a best friend in a dog is brilliant for me as well,” the 22-year-old continued.

“It's a mixture of stuff that's helped me settle mentally and made me feel at home. It's my first dog, I love him, his name is Teddy and he's my best friend.”

Next up for Willock and Newcastle is a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off). The Magpies haven’t lost on their two visits to Spurs’ new stadium and would welcome a result following back-to-back defeats against Chelsea and Everton before the international break.

As a boyhood Arsenal fan and former Gunner himself, Willock is looking forward to facing Tottenham, but it’s Newcastle that has his affection and support now as he looks to help guide the team to Premier League safety.

“Newcastle United is the team that has my heart,” Willock revealed. “We have a massive objective to do this season, we have points we need to get before we can say we're safe.

"We need to go into this game with the mindset that we need to win, get the three points and continue pushing up the table.

“Even when we were going through the bad run, I didn’t have any doubt in the team and the players or the team because we have so much quality. We have so many players who can change the game in an instant and we have brilliant professionals.

“We didn’t give up on each other and we’re happy it came out at the right time to show what we can do with the unbeaten run. But we haven’t done anything yet, we have to keep going and keep pushing.

"We have nine games to go and they are a very important nine games and we want to win every one of them. We have to start on Sunday and look on from there.”

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