Howe so grateful to chiefs

EDDIE HOWE has thanked the Newcastle hierarchy for backing him in his hour of need when critics had the knives out for him.

The Magpies romped to a 4-0 victory over fellow Champions

League chasers Tottenham at St James’ Park on Saturday to boost their own hopes of European qualification.

The big win came despite Howe’s side missing 11 players through injury or suspension, six of whom would be potential first-team starters in his strongest line-up.

It was their third win in four games since the international break, a run in stark contrast to a sequence of eight defeats in 10 outings in all competitions around the turn of the year.

During that time the club’s Saudibacked owners remained right behind Howe despite the first signs of pressure mounting on the 46-year-old head coach.

Howe (above) said: “I always say the most important thing for me is not during the good times, but the difficult moments which will inevitably be there.

“There will always be negative and difficult moments and it’s the support you get then that is the defining factor.

“You need stability, calmness, level heads and to be allowed to focus on your work. The people behind the scenes have done all of that for me.”

Howe, his staff and his players have done much the same in the face of an injury list which has remained stubbornly lengthy throughout a challenging campaign.

On Saturday, they started with their back-up goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, winger Jacob Murphy at right-back, third-choice right-back Emil Krafth and left-back Dan Burn playing as two of three central defenders and leftsided frontman Anthony Gordon operating on the right.

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