Eddie Howe delivers clear four word Newcastle United message

Newcastle United’s defeat to Brighton on Saturday evening means the Magpies have now lost three league games in a row. The loss left the Magpies languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table and facing a desperate need to transform their fortunes after the upcoming international break.

Reflecting on the last couple of weeks, Eddie Howe told Sky Sports that although results haven’t gone their way, he believes there are positive signs and that he and his team aren’t going to shy away from their upcoming challenges.

Howe said: “In football the difficult moments are never too far away and I think you need to be resolute and resilient. I think when the fixtures came out everybody looked at that and thought that’s a very difficult start.

“We did really well in our first game, we haven’t got the results in the next three, but there have been moments in all of those performances where we have been very close and I think it’s very important that I don’t overreact.

“Of course it’s worrying when you’re not winning. We’re very honest and we reflect very realistically with the staff and the players - that’s what we will do now.

“That’s the moment we are in, we can’t hide away from it, we can only face it head on and that’s what we plan to do.”

So what do Newcastle United need to do in order to transform their recent slump into positive results? The Magpies now have an international break to recover before planning for the visit of Brentford and their trip to face AC Milan at the San Siro begins. 

Howe, who wants his team to relish their forthcoming Champions League campaign in the ‘group of death’ had a simple message for his players. “We need a win,” said United’s head coach. 

“That’s always been there in my management career, you have to win. That’s the game we’re in.”

Ahead of the clash against Brentford, the Magpies will be monitoring the fitness of Fabian Schar after the defender struggled with a muscle injury in the final stages of Saturday’s defeat. Joe Willock will miss that game after suffering an achilles injury.