Newcastle United's near 70-year domestic trophy drought will go on a little longer after Sunday's League Cup final defeat by Manchester United at Wembley.

Once again the Magpies were found wanting with a trophy at stake. Since winning the FA Cup 68 years ago, Newcastle has three times finished as runner-up in the competition and has now lost two League Cup finals as well.

There is genuine optimism that Newcastle is heading in the right direction under Eddie Howe, although the manager himself says it still has a long way to go.

"It is a process, we want to be here on a regular basis. There is a long way to go to be the team we want to be," Howe told reporters after a disappointing return to Wembley.

"We can be proud of our performance but we were not clinical enough. As much as we didn't want the final to be a distraction it has been. The players gave everything."

Howe, who has achieved a remarkable transformation since taking over in the wake of a Saudi-led takeover in late 2021, said Newcastle will take positives from the loss.

"It hurts immensely," added Howe. "It feels like you have failed. A negative sea of emotions hit you but, with defeat, sometimes you can take positives.

"Nothing is guaranteed. I hope we are a different Newcastle, but the competition is very high so we have to improve. We can't stand still and think we are something. We have to prove we are — and we have to go again."

The former Bournemouth manager said there had been a "dramatic change" since his arrival at the club, when the team was embroiled in a relegation battle it ultimately escaped with ease.

"The work starts again but I hope we're a different Newcastle," he said. "I hope we're improving continually certainly in terms of the players' efforts and their mindsets.

"What they've given me, I can't criticize them at all this season and we're going to need that and some more to continue to be successful."

He added: "The competition is very, very high so we have to improve.

"We can't stand still, we can't think that we're something at this moment in time. We have to prove we are and so next year, in these competitions, the FA Cup and the League Cup, we have to go again with the intention of trying to win."

Howe said Newcastle, playing its first final since 1999, when it lost 2-0 to Manchester United in the FA Cup showpiece, still had to improve to match the levels of the top Premier League teams.

"The players have done exceptionally well to elevate ourselves to an incredible position, to have done really well in this competition but we're not the finished article by any means," he said.

Reuters