"[We had] Mixed success with that. I thought we were a little bit loose in our defending in that first half – hence the number of chances Milan created but we were very good in and around our box, hence why we got the point."
To be fair to the local press who follow Newcastle United any criticism of Howe’s set up seemed to be coming mainly from national media figures, coming off the back of their own hyped up and sometimes over the top pre match reporting on the club’s return to champions League action after a 20 year gap
Reflecting on the game as well as the atmosphere generated inside the San Siro Howe said "I thought the crowd were very good for Milan tonight. It was a hostile atmosphere for us, the players had to adjust to that and that's why I don't think you can underestimate the performance and the point that we get.
"I think it will look better and better as time goes on because it's a new experience for a lot of people - me included - tonight and hopefully we can grow from this into the tournament.
"Again, I'll praise the players for the defensive qualities that they showed today. We know we can do better with the ball, but hopefully that will come."