Eddie Howe admitted he was going through his toughest time as Newcastle manager but insists he is still the right man for the job.
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at home to Brentford was their fourth in five games in all competitions, with Newcastle sitting 12th in the Premier League table ahead of tomorrow night’s game at Tottenham.
Howe is starting to feel the pressure from a demanding fanbase and accepts results need to turn if Newcastle are to achieve their season’s objectives.
Asked if this was his toughest time since joining the Saudi Arabian-owned club in 2021, he said: “Yeah I think so. Any time where you are not getting the results that you want. It’s been a difficult run of games and will continue to be a difficult run of games for us but that’s where we all need to show our strength of character and our resolve and resilience.”
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I’ll fight for Newcastle – Howe
It will be a season-defining fortnight for Newcastle with the trip to Spurs followed by an FA Cup fourth-round tie at Aston Villa before a two-legged Champions League play-off against Qarabag either side of a league game at Manchester City.
Despite the increasing unrest, Howe is adamant he remains the right person to lead the club forward.
He added: ”There’s no doubt in my mind [I’m the right man] and that’s why I’m sat here. If there was, then I wouldn’t be, because the club’s the most important thing. I’d never put myself before the club.
“As long as I feel that in my heart and my spirit, then my desire and motivation levels are as high as they’ve ever been. I’ll fight every day to my maximum for the club.
“If I didn’t think I was the correct man to take the team forward and could give the players what they need, then I would step aside and let someone else do it.”
Howe says he will lead from the front in an attempt to navigate this current crisis.
“Everyone is looking for you to set the tone,” he said. “People want to follow, that’s human nature. If you have strength in these moments as a leader you can drag everybody with you and that’s why it’s important to stand up and show your character and how much it means to you. That’s what me and the staff are going to try and do.
“The unity aspect is important, if you don’t have that you lose everything. At the moment we still have that and that’s the most important thing. The supporters, even on Saturday, were incredible for us and that’s never taken for granted.”
Newcastle have to sort out defensive woes
Newcastle have conceded 10 goals in their last three games and Howe admitted they need to improve defensively.
He said: “We have to defend better. You look back at the last run of games we have not defended well enough. We need to find solutions to our defensive vulnerabilities. And we have not been clinical enough at the other end.”
Newcastle will give fitness tests to Lewis Miley and Anthony Gordon – both of whom missed the Brentford game – while Lewis Hall is also a doubt after sustaining a knock against the Bees.
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