Jose Mourinho hits nail on the head over Alexander Isak's sour Newcastle exit

Jose Mourinho has lavished praise on Eddie Howe and his Newcastle squad for the manner in which they handled Alexander Isak's strike action last summer. The Sweden international downed tools and refused to participate in training or matches in a bid to secure his £130m transfer to Liverpool, leaving Newcastle without a striker and precious little time to source a replacement as the window drew to a close.

However, the former Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United manager believes Newcastle have bounced back impressively from the Isak saga. He also identified Nick Woltemade as a major danger to his Benfica side ahead of tonight's Champions League encounter at St James' Park.

Mourinho said: "What happened with Isak in the summer is very difficult for a club and very difficult for a coach and very difficult for the fellow players."

"I think in the end everybody knows he is going to leave to Liverpool. But one thing is everybody knows he is going to leave, and another is it is done.

"When it is done you can move on, when it is done you can have a new player and when you have a new player you can start to train and adapt to play with the new player because of course Isak and Nick Woltemade are different players."

Woltemade enters Tuesday's fixture fresh from netting another strike against Brighton, bringing his season tally across all competitions to seven goals.

Mourinho, who charmed the Tyneside press corps during an enthralling 30-minute news conference, said: "There is always a transition but it looks like this boy (Woltemade) has been playing here all his life.

"Because he is performing, adapting and loved by the fans. Newcastle are doing things right, doing things right."

Mourinho, who began his career as a translator and assistant to Newcastle legend Sir Bobby Robson, expressed his fondness for St James' Park and the fervent Geordie crowd.

He stated: "It is a fantastic place to play football. People do not come here to watch the game, they come here to play it with them.

"It's not just the stadium, it's the club, the history, the passion and the fans. The economic power they have to have the team that they have, to win a trophy, two seasons in the Champions League.

"It is a team that is very close to even bigger things. It is a very different club because of the culture of the city in this region.

"It is different culturally to London, Manchester and other clubs in England. I love playing here. I said that to the players, even as an opponent, it is beautiful, the atmosphere you will feel that, you will see that tomorrow evening."