Newcastle United haven’t gone ‘backwards’ insists Eddie Howe amid Alexander Isak & training ground claim
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Newcastle United latest news: Eddie Howe has responded to claims his side have gone ‘backwards’ this season.
Eddie Howe has insisted that Newcastle United have not gone ‘backwards’ this season, despite collecting one fewer point than they did at the corresponding stage of last campaign and needing to win their next five Premier League matches just to ensure that difference doesn’t increase.
However, it’s not just the comparison of points totals that has fans worried this season. The Magpies have won just once away from home in the league, they have conceded a lot of late goals, there is a lack of intensity within games and, crucially, and there is a general feeling that this team are not as good as the one Howe could name 12 months ago - despite a very heavy summer spend.
Defeat to Sunderland at the weekend has once again seen those concerns come to the fore and, speaking ahead of their clash with Fulham, Howe was asked whether he believes his team had gone backwards over the last few months.
“Of course it was a difficult summer and I said there and then, whenever you lose a player like Alex, who's one of the best strikers in the world, your team's going to suffer from that,” Howe responded.
“I don't care who you bring in to replace him, that's a very difficult piece of your jigsaw to replace. Now, it's not just Alex.
“We're always evolving and changing as players are ageing. And then we've entered sort of, I think, a new dynamic for the team and we're adjusting to that and I think with that comes some bumps and some rough patches.
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“I don't know whether backwards is the right word. I think we're changing and morphing into something else and hopefully that something else will be very positive in the future.”
Do Newcastle United’s struggles stem from a lack of training time?
One consideration that Newcastle United have to factor in this season compared to 12 months ago is a busy fixture schedule. The Magpies have had no free midweeks since September, with their six-day break between Saturday’s game and their trip to Old Trafford on Boxing Day the longest time that Howe has had with his whole group on together since August.
Asked by the Shields Gazette if that lack of training time is having an impact on his team, Howe responded: “I think it's had an impact on some of the new players fully understanding and adjusting to our style. Because, as you say, if you're not training, it's much harder for them to get a feel for their position and the intensity that we usually like to play at.
“So I think there's challenges for us. This season's been like no other in terms of fixtures.
“You [journalists] have all felt that yourselves in terms of you're travelling here, there and everywhere and you gradually build fatigue and the players will be no different to any other group of people in that respect.
“It's trying to keep the players mentally and physically fresh enough with the turnaround of games to attack each game as if it's a cup final. That's been and will continue to be a challenge.
“So navigating that, navigating the change in team, navigating a few injuries of late, they're all things that we have to do, but there's no excuses. We have to still get results and we've got to figure a way to still be successful.”