Newcastle scored a big three points in their fight to survive in the Premier League on Tuesday night when they beat relegation rivals Everton 3-1 at St. James’ Park.
Everton looked listless but the Magpies were in top form and could have scored more to make the victory even more emphatic.
Given expressed his delight about the win and insisted that the atmosphere inside St. James’ Park was similar to when he was playing for Newcastle.
He lavished praise on the work Howe has carried out at Newcastle since taking charge of the club but admitted that the decision to leave out Guimaraes and Burn from the starting eleven shocked him.
However, the former goalkeeper stressed that the result showed that the Newcastle boss got his plans spot on.
Given said on talkSPORT: “After a victory, it is always sweeter to talk about the football.
“The atmosphere was reminiscent of when I was there. The crowd was absolutely bouncing and it was great to see.
“Eddie has done a great job since he has been there.
“It was a slow start and maybe he didn’t have the bounce effect and now he has signed five players in January.
“Last night Bruno and Dan Burn not starting was a big shock before the game but he got his team selection and shape right.
“You could see his reaction after the game with the supporters.”
The win took Newcastle above the relegation zone for the first time in a while and they will next take on Aston Villa at home at the weekend.
