Eddie Howe has underlined the importance of being able to rest players as Newcastle United's season hits crunch time.
With 13 matches remaining, Newcastle could still end up any three of the European competitions and are in a good position in the Premier League. Only a drastic slide in results would see Newcastle miss out on Europe completely now.
Howe left Miguel Almiron, Callum Wilson and Jamaal Lascelles out of his team last weekend, and when asked about selection, he said today: "It is vital that you have the opportunity to do that (rest players) from time to time. It is a long season with cups and Premier League.
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"Also the way that we play is demanding as I've said before. We ask a lot of our players physically.
"So it's nice to be able to pull somebody back and give them a chance to reset. Everyone will have their own opinions on the team but when you bring a player out for their own physical needs sometimes it can be overhyped. For me it is a natural process of the season."
In fairness, Almiron came off the bench to score the winning goal against Wolverhampton and Fabian Schar, who replaced Lascelles, was one of the stars of the game.
Another player that Howe has been cautious with is £63million man Alexander Isak. Howe stated last week that the way Newcastle play meant he is not yet ready to play 90 minutes every week.
Isak scored against Wolves and got 68 minutes in the tank. Howe said: "I felt he did that against Wolves and was outstanding in every respect. Physically he was very, very good. Technically very good and his goal, I still enjoy watching that even now a week after, so hopefully that’s the start of a really good run for him."
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