Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has moved to quell speculation he could walk away at the end of the season following a dispiriting run of results.
The Carabao Cup holders’ defence of their first major domestic trophy in 70 years ended on Wednesday night when Manchester City completed a 5-1 aggregate semi-final victory over Howe’s men, and they head into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Brentford sitting in 11th place in the table.
However, after social media went into overdrive in the wake of a hugely disappointing first-half performance at the Etihad Stadium to suggest the 48-year-old has taken the club as far as he can, with further speculation that he could replace England boss Thomas Tuchel this summer despite Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson’s claim this week that the two parties remain happy with each other, Howe was in defiant mood.
Howe said: “That’s a surprise to me. I give my best to the football club every single day, to all the players and the staff. I try to be the best version of myself to inspire the team to win games.
“That’s my only thought. I don’t tend to look too far ahead, but I try to prepare and plan for the club to move forward in every sense. My individual future isn’t really relevant.
“Who knows? I don’t know my length of time here, I’ve got no idea. I just try to do my best every day until told differently.”
Injury-hit Newcastle go into the weekend seven points adrift of the top five but still in business in the Champions League – they face Azerbaijani side Qarabag over two legs for a place in the last 16 later this month – and the FA Cup.
Their home form has been reasonably solid – although Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa have won in the league at St James’ Park this season – but their return on the road during a campaign which already amounts to 38 games in all competitions has been significantly below par.
The loss of £130m striker Alexander Isak to Liverpool during the summer has had a lasting and ongoing impact, and Howe acknowledges that the £219m they spent on Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey is yet to pay full dividends.
He said: “For me, it’s too early to make strong conclusions from that transfer window. At this moment in time, I’d probably say let’s see where we are at the end of the season, and then even six months into next season too.
“I think you’ll have a clearer idea then because you can look back at Lewis Hall’s transfer and go, ‘Well that didn’t work initially’, but for me that was always a long-term signing.
“That’s also true of various other players we’ve signed through the years – Anthony Gordon also took time to become the player that he is now. Patience is needed, although it’s a rare commodity these days with transfers.
“I understand that with the outlay, people will go, ‘You shouldn’t need patience and understanding’. But I’d say with most transfers these days, I think there has to be an element of that.”
