“It was great to be back on the pitch,” he said. “We might have been a bit short on energy, but I'm pleased with the team's performance and how we managed the game.

Ipswich set up a strong defense, making it difficult for us to break through. They got a lot of players behind the ball, so we had to be patient and wait for our chances.

Having an extra player on the field certainly helped us. The first goal was crucial, and we played well in the second half.

We're glad to see different players scoring goals. Dan Burn has consistently scored important goals for us, and it was great to see Will Osula score with a great header. This could be a confidence boost for him.

When it came to Alexander Isak's penalty, Howe was adamant it was the right call.

“I thought it was a clear penalty from the start,” he said. “Jacob Murphy was clearly fouled.

I wasn't sure if VAR would intervene, but I'm glad they did. My initial impression was that it was a clear penalty.

Whether it was a clear and obvious error is up for debate. I haven't had a chance to review it again.

Newcastle is now back in third place in the Premier League table.

“It's going to be a close finish,” Howe said, discussing the Champions League qualifying race. “The important thing today was that we bounced back from last week's loss. We've been consistent, and now we have four big games ahead of us.”