Eddie Howe has had a disappointing season as Magpies manager (Image: Getty)
Newcastle bosses remain fully supportive of Eddie Howe despite a disappointing showing in the Premier League, according to reports. The Magpies, who have won just three of their last 10 games, sit in the bottom half of the division, seven points out of the top five. A heartbreaking derby defeat to Sunderland just before the international break was particularly tough.
They were also given a hard time by Barcelona in the knockout stage of the Champions League, losing 8-3 on aggregate. As a result of their dire situation, pressure is mounting on Howe to quickly turn things around. But the powers that be at St James’s Park are not ready to pull the trigger just yet.
According to BBC Sport, they are still backing Howe to sack Newcastle again. As such, with the crucial summer transfer window just around the corner, it is unlikely that he will be relieved of his duties before the end of the season.
The report added that Howe is keen to oversee the rebuilding of the squad and that the 48-year-old recognizes that “a sale may be necessary” in certain circumstances.
Speaking last week, Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson said he was hopeful for a strong finish to the season, but insisted there had been no conversations about a potential managerial change.
“I don’t have any stance on his future,” he said. “All I can say is that the derby loss hurt. We take it very seriously. There’s nothing in us that thinks, ‘Well, we’ve only got three points and we’ll move on.’ It resonated.”
“I recently had a few hours of one-on-one lunch with Eddie and we talked about this and many other things.
“Eddie is our manager. We’re expecting a great run here until the end of the season and we’ll talk about the future when the time is right. Right now we’re focused on competing this season.”
Howe reportedly wants to oversee a rebuild of the squad in the summer (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, Coach Howe expressed relief that his schedule will be lighter between now and the end of the season, giving him the opportunity to practice with his players on the practice field.
Newcastle have played 23 games in four different competitions since the start of the year, but will get a much-needed break after the international break.
“It’s a different stage for us right now,” Howe said. “We’re used to playing relentlessly every two, three, four days and the players have responded well to that.
“The professionalism was great, they took care of themselves physically, mentally, everything. This was a real test for us and I have to praise the players for that.
“Now we’ve moved on to another stage. It’s going to be a bit strange to play once a week, training again in large groups and it’s going to be really fun.
“I’m looking forward to it if I can and I hope it helps with our performance in the Premier League and we can finish the season on a strong note.”
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