Eddie Howe has admitted he is still working out the best way to 'utilise' Allan Saint-Maximin but the Newcastle United head coach has hailed the Frenchman as a 'huge player'.
Saint-Maximin has already matched his goal and assist tally for the whole of last season after working hard on his fitness to play in all of Newcastle's games this season.
However, Saint-Maximin appears to still be adjusting to Howe's tactical demands after predecessor Steve Bruce previously handed his talisman a free role.
Saint-Maximin has been used as both a winger and a striker by Howe, who wants his attackers to press the opposition, and the Newcastle head coach knows that getting the best out of the mercurial forward will be key to his side's hopes of staying up.
"Maxi is a huge player for us," he told reporters on Zoom. "He's the catalyst for many of our good things.
"You look back to the Liverpool game where he played as a striker and I thought he was excellent in that game.
"In the moments where we were able to give him the ball and utilise his pace and dribbling ability on the counter-attack, he was devastating in moments in that game.
"When he came on against Manchester City, again, he had moments where he played a couple of lovely passes through to Callum. He looked a counter threat in that match as well.
"It's all about us, as a team, trying to function well enough, giving enough stability to the team to then allow him to showcase his talents.
"Give him the ball more, get him the ball more in the attacking half - these are all things that we know we have to do because he's such a dangerous player.
"We're still working out the best way to utilise him in all phases of the game but we know when we can get him more of the ball in those attacking moments, that's a big structure of our work at the moment."
We want to hear your thoughts, so LOG IN and leave your comment below.
