Bruno Guimaraes has been refreshingly honest and open in his immediate reaction to Newcastle United’s disappointing 4-2 defeat to Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
After what was a somewhat positive first half with more fluidity and attacking flair than we’ve seen in recent away games, the team looked lost during the second period and the defending especially left a lot to be desired.
It has put massive pressure on Eddie Howe to sort things out after watching his side concede seven goals in the last two games and sit in the bottom half of the table as we approach the halfway mark of the season.
Speaking to NUFC TV after the game, Bruno claimed that the whole team looked ‘a mess’ and ‘lost control’ after Nathan Collins’s effort restored Brentford’s lead on the 56th minute.
**_“The first half we had some good moments. But the second half we became a mess!_** **_After their third goal we lost our way, lost control. We became a mess on the pitch._**
**_”Very dissapointed…after the last game against Liverpool, I thought we’d come here and play our best football.”_**
**_“Being honest, our season has been very, very disappointing. We have not been consistent._** **_We have to find consistency if we want to be in Europe again. We have to fix it.”_**
After their heroics against Liverpool during midweek, the Brazilian also admitted that he had expected the team to really step up and ‘play our best football’, but that it was ‘very disappointing’ to be conceding so many goals yet again.
There were no excuses from the midfielder, who was quite clearly frustrated, and he is well aware that the players cannot continue to only show up in the bigger games, adding that they must begin to find some consistency.
Over his first couple of full seasons Howe impressed heavily with a return to Champions League football, a first ever league cup final appearance and an unbelievable performance against PSG.
However, the credit he had in the bank is quickly running out and performances have been becoming somewhat stale over the last 12 months with teams in the bottom half in particular figuring out exactly how we are going to play.
In the next four games, Newcastle will play at St James’ Park three times against Leicester, Brentford and Aston Villa as well as facing a trip to Ipswich, and it’s starting to feel like three of these are approaching must-win territory.