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Eddie Howe has received support from a Newcastle United legend.
Saturday’s disappointing 4-2 defeat at Brentford saw Howe’s side continue what has been a season hampered by inconsistency and an inability to match the intensity and energy they showed in heartening displays against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. Some have raised questions over the attitudes of the Magpies players as they seem to raise their game against the Premier League’s leading lights - but have routinely fallen short against clubs outside of the ‘traditional’ top six.
Although Newcastle remain within striking distance of the European places ahead of Saturday’s home game with struggling Leicester City, there are concerns that the club has stagnated over the last year and has failed to build on what was a remarkable achievement in finishing in the top four and ending a two-decade absence from the Champions League.
There have been some suggestions a managerial change could be on the cards to help the Magpies regain some momentum - but former club captain Shearer has insisted Howe ‘deserves time and patience’ after overseeing a turnaround in fortunes during his three-year reign at St James Park.
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“I don’t have any doubts about Howe still being the right man for Newcastle,” Shearer wrote in his column for The Athletic. "He can and should lead the team forward. After what he has done, not just pulling the team away from relegation and then straight into the Champions League, but in the way he has set standards and built an identity, he deserves time and patience.
“He needs support, because that identity is blurring. I don’t think there’s the mood — or the money — to make a change. Give it 10 days and three brilliant victories and I’ll be singing a different tune but, as things stand, it feels like inconsistency is baked in. However good they might think they are, players must run to exhaustion every game. Howe must find a way to get past Leicester and Brentford, because that keeps the season alive and quietens the noise.”
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