Bramall Lane: Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe said Sunday’s 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield United showed his team’s motivation and mentality are spot on, though he still saw some room for improvement in their performance. Sean Longstaff put Newcastle ahead on 21 minutes and they were 7-0 up with 15 minutes remaining, with substitute Alexander Isak completing the rout for the visitors, who were coming into the game after a tough 0-0 draw at AC Milan in the Champions League. Newcastle became the first team in Premier League history to have eight different scorers in one game and it was their biggest away win in the league. It also matched their record league victory, an 8-0 hammering of Sheffield Wednesday in 1999. “It was very good. I don’t know whether it was the complete performance,” Howe said. “We are always looking to find things to improve … I’m delighted with the players. “We started really well and got the goal early. That settled us down and we played some really good football after that. It shows you that the players were very motivated for the game. They were hungry for goals and for success. “I do think we’ve got a really motivated group. I see really good character traits through the whole squad. It’s a long season for us, we’ve got a lot of challenges to come but certainly the last week has been a return to form for us.” Newcastle, who finished fourth last season, are eighth on nine points after six games in the current campaign, nine points behind leaders Manchester City.