Inside the Press Room at Newcastle: CRAIG HOPE on what Eddie Howe is thinking with Nick Pope, the warning he sent out, latest injury news and Saturday's starting XI

Newcastle travel to Everton on Saturday in search of their first Premier League away win of the season.

Eddie Howe met with the media to look ahead to that game at the club's North Tyneside training base on Friday morning.

And our chief football reporter Craig Hope was there to take you INSIDE THE PRESS ROOM…

TOP LINE

There was only one subject that dominated this press briefing - will Howe drop Nick Pope? There have been a string of errors of late that have cost Newcastle dearly, especially away from home. It has led to calls from supporters for Aaron Ramsdale to come in, and they intensified in the wake of Pope's mistake in Marseille on Tuesday.

Newcastle were leading 1-0 just after half-time when he rushed from his area and allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to equalise. That moment rocked the visitors and Aubameyang scored what proved to be the winner a few minutes later.

Howe would not give a definitive answer either way, but did admit he is giving serious consideration as to who starts on Merseyside.

'All options are on the table for me,' he said. 'I need to think long and hard about who I pick. I'll try to do that on merit. I get the luxury of seeing players training every day, including goalkeepers.

'His (Pope's) shot-stopping has been incredible. He delivers so many saves that it's almost expected. The life of a goalkeeper is on a knife-edge. It's been very strong apart from a couple of high-profile moments.

'You don't necessarily naturally think about rotating a goalkeeper, at least in my mind. It's a position of consistency and you want to give the defenders in front of them consistency and understanding. Changing goalkeeper is possible, of course, but doing so is a big thing. Certainly rotating the goalkeeper position is not something I want to do.

'Nick is vastly experienced. He's a very level character. You don't see huge highs or lows, even when he plays really well and makes world class saves, as he does on a regular basis. He's still very calm and relaxed and absorbs it all. We certainly back him, he's made a number of brilliant saves for us this season.'

BEST QUESTION

You could have 32 games between now and the middle of March if you progress in the Carabao Cup - is it fair to say you haven't managed to get the balance right as a squad to prove you can cope with that level of games?

Howe said: 'In terms of results, any sort of criticism towards us in that respect is justified. We have to take it. Until we get consistent results, I can't sit here and say we are managing it well. We are trying our best to keep our players fresh when they are entering the pitch. But the biggest thing for me is every time you are selected you are physically and mentally prepared to deliver your best level. Playing fatigued doesn't help us. Even if you are playing for yourself, we need you to be playing for the team. You need to be at your physical best to match the physical demands we make in our game model.'

My verdict: Howe's answer felt like a warning to any player who, perhaps selfishly, is putting themselves up for selection when they are in need of a rest or carrying an unreported issue.

INJURY NEWS

Howe confirmed the two big pieces of fitness news revealed in Newcastle Confidential on Thursday - that Yoane Wissa has trained for the first time and Kieran Tripper could be out for up to four weeks.

The Newcastle boss even went as far as to say he has a return date in mind for Wissa, something he has so far refrained from committing to - not that he revealed the exact game here! It will not be this weekend at Everton, and I have a feeling the target could be the Wear-Tyne derby at Sunderland in just over two weeks' time.

'Yoane is doing well,' said Howe. 'He trained with us for the first time on Wednesday when we came back from Marseille. I was really pleased with how he looked. That was his first time competitively with the group. Let's see how he responds.

'Hopefully he'll train again today and we'll continue to build him up. We have one (a game) in mind, but I think it's best to keep it to myself. I don't want to disappoint anybody. Of course we want to involve him as soon as possible but we want him to be able to perform.'

Trippier, meanwhile, has been sent for a scan on his injured hamstring and looks set to miss the derby and possibly the next eight matches. Likewise, fellow right back Emil Krafth is facing a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, although Howe had no definitive timeframe and stressed that the issue was not serious. Will Osula is also still out with an ankle problem.

And, finally for the medical bulletin, Howe revealed that Sven Botman has been nursing a back issue, which tells me Dan Burn will start at Everton at centre-back.

LIGHTER MOMENT

It is Howe's birthday on Saturday and, when asked about it, he said: 'Yeah, 48… I don't like that being discussed now. I've gone from not wanting it being discussed all the time because I was too young, to now going the other way.'

A veteran reporter of this patch later reminded Howe: 'Trust me, Eddie, 48 is no age!'

ANY SURPRISES?

Given the above injuries to Trippier and Krafth at right back, midfielder Lewis Miley was used in the position in the second half during the defeat in Marseille.

Interestingly, Howe has now hinted that the 19-year-old could play there more often in the short term - think Dominik Szoboszlai!

'I have always had my eye on Lewis potentially being able to play that role,' said Howe. 'He can play the role easily from a technical viewpoint and from an attacking viewpoint. He is a very good crosser of the ball.

'It was the defending aspect, always, when you are playing a new position, but he actually dealt with that really well and his positioning was excellent. I think he is just an intelligent footballer with a very good brain and he played some wonderful passes on the pitch from that position. He certainly helped us in the latter stages so it could be something I look at again.'

NAME THE TEAM

Pope; Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Gordon, Woltemade, Barnes.