Eddie Howe used Erik ten Hag’s words about Newcastle being ‘annoying’ to rile up his players, while a new Amazon doc shows him roaring ‘let’s give it to them f***ing’ ahead of the momentous win at Man United at St James’ Park

Eddie Howe turned Erik ten Hag’s disdain for his side at Newcastle United into pure motivation for one of their best performances of last season.

The Manchester United manager had described Howe’s team as ‘annoying’ ahead of their meeting in the Carabao Cup final in February, suggesting they deliberately slowed the pace of games.

While Ten Hag saw his side win 2-0 at Wembley to lift that trophy, it was a very different story when the two sides met at St James’ Park in the Premier League in April.

Howe’s team blew Man United off the park that afternoon, as goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson secured a memorable win.

And Amazon’s new behind-the-scenes documentary, ‘We Are Newcastle United’, has revealed that Howe read Ten Hag’s unflattering remarks to rouse his players in the dressing room beforehand.

A teaser clip from the documentary shows Howe’s last speech before the players walked out.

He says, ‘My last post today, I’m going to do something I rarely do, but when I heard the comments I felt I had to pass it along to you.

‘ So comments from their manager (Ten Hag): ‘They have the lowest ball in playing time in the league and are quite successful at slowing down the game.

“It’s a nasty team to play against, so we have to find a way to play against them. It is therefore up to us to get the speed in the game and we also depend on the referees.’

‘Why am I telling you that? If they want a quick game, come here, let’s give it to them, let’s be intense in every action we do, let’s make it a quick game. Let’s go!’

The three points gained that day helped Newcastle finish fourth in the final standings and qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.

Willock headed the opener within 65 minutes after Allan Saint-Maximin nodded a Bruno Guimaraes cross back over the target.

Wilson came off the bench late and secured the win by nodding in a free kick from Kieran Trippier.

Newcastle’s social media team also couldn’t resist meeting up at Ten Hag a few times, tweeting ‘no time wasted required’ and noting that Saint-Maximin was ‘annoying’ to play against.

Ten Hag made his comments ahead of the Carabao Cup final based on the goalless draw between the two sides at Old Trafford earlier this season.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta also expressed their frustrations with Newcastle’s approach on other points last season.

At the time of Ten Hag’s comments, the ball had only averaged 51 minutes and 47 seconds in play in Newcastle’s matches – the lowest of any top club except Leeds.

Ten Hag said: ‘They are a nasty team to play against, so we have to find a way to win. They try to annoy you. We have to make sure we play our game and focus on our game.

“If you see that the referee wants to play an effective time, they have the lowest in the league and they are quite successful with that.

“It is therefore up to us to get speed into the game, and then we also depend on the referees.

“We have to make it our game, so focus on work and playing football when the ball is in play, that’s what it’s about.

“So focused on that. Don’t get distracted from what can be, no matter what’s happening on the pitch. We have to find our way and find the moments when we can strike.’

Ten Hag got his wish that afternoon as goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford ended a six-year trophy wait for United.

But those words certainly came back to haunt him a few weeks later after Howe weaponized them to excellent effect.

The Newcastle documentary will be released on Amazon Prime Video on August 11.