‘Twists and turns’ give Howe hope

EDDIE Howe is refusing to throw in the towel after Newcastle squandered two priceless points in their quest for survival.

Allan Saint-Maximin’s secondhalf strike had taken the Magpies to within three minutes of just their second win of the campaign, which would have lifted them out of the bottom three, but Joao Pedro’s late equaliser saw Watford snatch a 1-1 draw, leaving United deep in trouble.

But Howe said: “We saw today as a huge opportunity and that’s why it hurts so much. We were really pleased with what we saw up until half-time, so that gave us even more optimism that we could go on and win this match.

“One-nil for me is not the time to go into our shells. For me, that’s the time to put the game to bed, that’s the best way to handle that situation.

“But we have to understand the players’ mentality at this moment in time, maybe not thinking the same way, so that’s something we can change.

“There are a lot of twists and turns to come. We still believe in ourselves and the players, but obviously we know that every game gets more and more important.”

Newcastle had the better of a goalless first half and got their reward four minutes after the restart when Saint-Maximin robbed full-back Jeremy Ngakia and cut inside before blasting a shot past keeper Ben Foster.

But as time ran down, they retreated towards their own goal and paid the price when Pedro got between Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier to send a fine header past Martin Dubravka.

The Magpies, who had briefly climbed out of the bottom three at Watford’s expense, slipped back into it and, while they remain only two points from safety, their inability to defend leads - they have now dropped 21 points from winning positions this season - does not augur well for what remains of the campaign.

Howe said: “I don’t think it’s the time for shouting and screaming and that kind of reaction. I don’t think the players would welcome that and I don’t think that would do any good apart from just airing my frustrations on them and I don’t think that’s healthy with the current league position.

“I think it’s a case of trying to help the players understand why we didn’t win and then showing them and doing the work on the training pitch. I think that’s the only process that’s going to work.”