A former Sunderland manager has urged Newcastle fans to ease off Eddie Howe
16:57, 26 Mar 2026Updated 17:20, 26 Mar 2026
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe
Newcastle United fan expectations towards Eddie Howe are ‘unfair’ – and the club just needs to relax and be more realistic.
That’s the view of former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, who has leapt to the defence of the under-fire Magpies head coach after the derby disaster at St James’ Park.
Sunderland’s 2-1 victory increased the focus on Howe after a rollercoaster season which has seen Newcastle struggle for consistency in the league despite some strong performances in the cup competitions. They sit 12th in the Premier League table and face a fight to qualify for Europe.
Howe’s tactics and approach have been questioned by some watchers, but Poyet has warned against changing the manager, and believes Howe has done a stellar job on Tyneside.
“I think they are asking too much of Eddie,” he said. “It was a big revolution when the new owners arrived. They brought in a great number of players and it looked like Newcastle wanted to go on and win the Premier League and Champions League every year.
“But after that first incredible, amazing investment they have now settled down and become a normal Newcastle team.
“I think sometimes you create this expectation when you spend so much money, to then lower that expectation is very difficult. You keep believing you are going to keep investing.
“I think the team now, when they have the best XI on the pitch, it is a very interesting team that can finish in the top seven or eight, maybe qualify for Europe. When they are missing key players, like most teams it’s not the same.
“In the derby it wouldn’t have been the same with [Bruno] Guimaraes and [Sandro] Tonali in middle of the park – international players who give you something. These are starters in Newcastle that they need. Then they also lost Isak [in the summer] – did they replace him well? So there’s a change.
“I think when they play with the three up front that they did against Sunderland, it is more a team of counter-attack rather than a team that can take the game to the opposition.
“When you are playing at home in a derby, normally you have to take the risk – and for 45 minutes they did well, to be honest, and deserved to be in front. But then they started dropping and the other team got confidence and it was difficult to maintain.”
Newcastle now have seven games left this season to try and make Europe and finish with some momentum which they can take into the new campaign. Poyet, speaking on behalf of Betwright, believes that continuity and a more relaxed environment around the club is crucial.
“People are being a little bit unfair on Eddie,” he added. “He deserves to just settle down, finish the season well and set up for the summer.
“Newcastle need to just relax, settle down, finish the season well and make good decisions in the summer – go again. Changing completely is not what they need.”