ED’S WOR CRY
Howe says Toon are ‘mentally strong’ and backs Wilson to fire them out of doldrums
EDDIE HOWE has insisted Newcastle are not “in a dark place” – as he backed Callum Wilson to fire them back into Euro form.
The United chief is facing the most difficult spell of his Tyneside career.
Three 2-0 defeats in a row to the North-West elite, have seen Newcastle fail to score for more than five hours of play.
Only one win in the league since January has seen Liverpool catch up in the race for fourth place, which also involves Tottenham.
That target – even a top-six finish – seemed fanciful at the start of the season when players started to mention their hopes, after escaping relegation in 2022.
The form of Callum Wilson is a big worry. His massive effort of six goals in nine appearances to get into the England World Cup squad has been replaced with a drought and an air-shot against Manchester City last Saturday.
Wilson has scored once in 14 games for his club since October. The problem is Alexander Isak has yet to fully take his chance and find a rhythm in the starting XI, a slow start to his £54million move that was hampered by an early injury.
Howe 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 always need that inner belief that you are the best and I think Callum has got that.
“I’m always 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.”
The club has plenty of hope despite the mini-slump in results.
Howe 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 a 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.”
Co-owner Amanda
Staveley is fronting the Saudi rebuild based on positivity and ambitious declarations – as well as, she claims, a £200m cash injection since they took charge.
Her declaration that “we will win the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup” was a brave one.
Sometimes boastful vision does not sit well against the reality of how far United have to go to be elite.
More quality at left-back, centremidfield and a right-winger would give Howe options to compete with Joe Willock, Miguel Almiron, Allan Saint-Maximin and Dan Burn.
European football next season would be a huge drain on the regular first XI of this campaign, so options are needed.
Howe will now have to justify that spending by integrating Isak fully into his tactics. The same goes for hit-andmiss Anthony Gordon, who is now due a run after joining in January. The leap forward this season has been huge, but another one or two mighty surges are required to finish the job.