Newcastle United chiefs reach Eddie Howe decision as pressure mounts and what boss told players Newcastle slipped to their lowest Premier League position for 13 months after the defeat at Chelsea.
Eddie Howe will get time to turn things around at Newcastle United despite going five games without a top-flight victory.
After Newcastle slumped to 12th place in the table, Howe does not need to be told he needs a result or two to breathe life into a season that is in danger of fizzling out. But with sporting director Paul Mitchell and performance director James Bunce directly involved with the squad’s training load there is “collective responsibility” behind the scenes after a poor run of form.
What is being looked at closely by Toon chiefs is the manner of performances, and it was felt on Sunday that Newcastle battled hard and suffered some poor refereeing decisions from Wiltshire’s Simon Hooper who gave Chelsea the benefit of the doubt and a string of calls, even pointing to the spot at one stage for a slight brush from Dan Burn on Christopher Nkunku before realising his error and changing his mind after a screen check.
Putting aside a couple of sloppy pieces of defending, caused mainly by a distinct lack of pace in the centre-back area, Newcastle threatened Chelsea enough and were deemed to have gone “toe-to-toe” with the Blues in the eyes of Howe himself. United created 11 goal attempts and had 24 entries into the penalty area in West London.
The Magpies pushed for a second equaliser going into the closing stages and were never completely out of the game. Howe is believed to have sympathised with his players in the dressing room after the game and the feeling within the squad is that Toon stars remain behind their boss.
But nobody needs reminding that a response is required – and quickly. Getting through in the Carabao Cup is one of the squad’s goals in the next week. Then it will be about ensuring Newcastle put up a fight against Arsenal at home and then get something against Nottingham Forest. Only a major slump in form will see alarm bells sounding at board level or result in major questions from Riyadh at PIF HQ.
