Call of duty
HOWE’S BACKING HIS EURO STAR WILSON
EDDIE HOWE has insisted Newcastle are not “in a dark place” as he backs Callum Wilson to fire them into Europe.
The United chief (below) is facing the most difficult spell of his Tyneside career so far.
Three 2-0 defeats in a row to the North West elite – one of which was in the Carabao Cup final – have seen Newcastle fail to score in more than five hours of play.
Only one win in the league since the turn of the year has seen Liverpool catch up in the race for fourth place which also involves Tottenham.
That target – even a top-six finish – seemed somewhat fanciful at the start of the season when players started to mention their hopes, after just escaping the relegation battle in 2022. Wilson had a hot start to the season with six goals in nine appearances to grab a place in the England World Cup squad, but has only scored once since in 14 attempts for the Magpies.
But Howe insists his striker’s mental strength will prove vital as the Toon try to gatecrash the top European competitions.
He said: “Callum has an incredible mindset, he has that already. He is pushing himself all the time.
“In your playing career, you are going to have good spells and bad spells but you need that inner belief always that you are the best and I think Callum has got that. I’m in regular communication with my players in the pursuit of excellence.
“It’s not just about lifting someone up if they feel as though they need a lift, it’s about the pursuit of greatness, and Callum has that.”
Newcastle, of course, are chasing greatness as a club and a return to the top table of European football would do nothing to slow that progress.
And Howe insists the future is still very bright on Tyneside.
He added: “Lots of things are tested behind the scenes on these runs, what is the culture of your group like? What is the culture around the training ground like?
“It is a good test of that. So far the players have come up with the right answers.
“General performance has been strong and it is not like we are scratching around thinking we are in a dark place here.
“There is a belief that we can win again and we need to quickly. I have never sat here and talked us up in terms of target or top four. I have talked us up in terms of what I believe we can achieve and the quality in our group.
“In every season there are difficult periods and patches where you don’t win games that you should.
“That is the time you have to be really strong mentally and know it will change.”
The leap forward from last season to this has been huge and clearly evident, but another one or two mighty surges are required to finish the job they began so well back in August.
And Howe remains in no doubt his Euro fighter Wilson will return to form and lead them to that bright future.