Head coach Eddie Howe says he would step aside if he did not think he was still the right man to lead Newcastle United.
Newcastle were booed off by their supporters following a damaging 3-2 defeat against Brentford at St James' Park on Saturday.
Howe was crestfallen afterwards and said he was "not doing my job well enough at the moment" after his side slipped to 12th place in the Premier League table.
However two days later, Howe – who ended the club's seven-decade wait for a major domestic trophy 11 months ago – said there was "no doubt in my mind" he was the right man for the job.
"That's why I'm sitting here," he said on the eve of Tuesday's game at Tottenham Hotspur.
"If there was doubt, I wouldn't be – because the club is the most important thing. I've never put myself before the club.
"If I didn't think I was the correct man to take the team forward, and I couldn't give the players what they need, then I would step aside and let someone else do it."
Newcastle have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions, but Howe retains the backing of the club's hierarchy.
He has had a transformational impact since his appointment in 2021, beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last year and taking Newcastle into the Champions League twice.
Newcastle will be favourites to progress to the last 16 of the Champions League against Azerbaijan side Qarabag and have a FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Newcastle head coach acknowledged he was going through one of the toughest periods of his reign but is drawing on the experiences of previous difficult periods to turn things round.
"Those experiences I have been through countless times before stand me in good stead for this moment," he added.
"The collective spirit is what we're after. We're after the collective fight from all the players and if you have that resolve within the group, you can do amazing things again, so it can turn very quickly.
"The momentum is against us at the moment. We have to swing it back and then the world can look a very different place within a couple of games."
by tradegreek
14 Comments
Would love for him to turn it round but it just feels so stale at the moment.. still time though.
I ain’t think its his problem. Defenders are too old and slow except Lewis Hall. That’s all.
I don’t give a shit how bad this season gets, Howe deserves more time.
If we get Europe again, the FA cup or both I think he will be able to stay.
If we get neither maybe he should go, but only after the season finishes – and only if there’s someone to bring in who knows how to go from here to winning the prem.
Pointless going on about sacking him until we know what position we will be in next year.
Who’s gonna tell him?
Think this season is just too intense, not enough quality in the squad, not enough quantity in the squad, no time to train, too many games, burnout. Add confidence dropping and the atmosphere turning and we are in a bad place. I don’t think changing the manager would do anything to be honest.
We finally have a front office that’s staffed, the squad is gassed, and the Isak bullshit ruined our preseason. While this season has been rough, I don’t want him to go yet. I want to see next season where he can work with a full front office, have fully backed plans for transfers, and focus on training.
Basically, I don’t think Eddie’s the problem right now.
Its really interesting how the ‘Howe Out’ mob that have been vehemently against him all season and constantly post about it in the match threads, never post anything else here.
No constructive criticism, no words of encouragement when we get results, just a constant, miserable broken record.
He’s done a great job but there’s nothing wrong in saying I’m he’s not the man to take Newcastle to the next level it’s time for a manager whose used to being at the top level .
a bournemouth fan said something this past weekend that made me think, they said if Eddie feels enough pressure he will probably see out this season and then step down without giving notice to the club. Hope that person is wrong cause that would set us back
His rotation list is weird and you can tell from the last game that it doesn’t work. I’m wondering do they even practice with different lineup because it seems like they have never played together before.
The problem is that I just can’t see him turning it around at this point, there isn’t a Plan B that he will turn to, just “Plan A but better” and if there is a Plan B then he should’ve got it out weeks ago
I’m of the opinion a change might be best for everyone in the summer to freshen it up after what has been an intense 4 years. Still tough to hear him speaking like this, don’t know if I’ll ever have an affinity for a manager in the same way as I do Howe again.
Someone here called me a ‘fucking pillock’ and ‘so far up Howe’s arse’ for backing the manager that won us our first trophy in SEVENTY YEARS. We beat Liverpool, Arsenal (twice) and Chelsea along the way. We’ve also finished 4th, 5th and 7th with the 8th-highest wage bill in the league, which is INSANE overperformance.
I’ve seen other posts saying “one cup win shouldn’t guarantee a job for life”. No – but it should give you some grace for gods’ sake.
What is the worst that happens this season? No Europe? No cup win? So basically the same as all but three of the last twenty years – two of which Howe was manager!
The backlash to Howe is a disgrace, in my opinion. It shames the fanbase just as the removal of Sir Bobby did.
Call me sentimental if you like – what the hell is football for if not sentiment? For stories? Howe has created the best story for Newcastle fans since Keegan.
If next year we are still struggling like this, then fine. Let’s look at it. Until then, let’s back the best thing that happened to this club in nearly 40 years.