Newcastle United's 'poor attitude' in Premier League matches is letting down manager Eddie Howe, according to Gary Neville. Despite their current position in the bottom half of the table and a significant gap to the European spots, former Manchester United star Neville believes that the Magpies' tendency to slacken their intensity is costing them dearly this season.
During Newcastle's match against West Ham, Neville observed that the team barely posed a threat to the goalkeeper in the second half, highlighting the players' attitude as a major issue rather than any significant shortcomings on Howe's part. While providing commentary for NBC Sports, Neville expressed his frustration: "They (Newcastle) made me really angry.
"In the last 20 minutes of the first half and certainly the second half, they did not have a shot for a long time in the game. I thought they really let the manager down. Eddie Howe is a fantastic manager who has a great record.
"They have a lot of work to do. It is almost like Eddie has to remind them that they have to work hard and basically be at an intense level every week to be able to win Premier League matches."
Neville suggests that Newcastle's players are being exposed following a strong performance last season where they secured fifth place and triumphed over Liverpool at Wembley to win the Carabao Cup. The pundit suspects that teams have noticed a decline in performances after big games and are now exploiting it.
Neville continued: "The gap between the top and the bottom is big in some ways. But if you drop your effort and intensity, you are going to get found out very quickly in this league.
"They have been found out today like you would not believe. They were lethargic and leggy and I thought their attitude towards this game was very poor."
Addressing Newcastle's disappointing league standing, Howe admitted: "Of course, it is a concern when you aren't where you want to be. You are always in a position where you are chasing results.
"That's where we are at the minute, we have not hit our rhythm in the Premier League. Not consistently. We have had some highs, West Ham is a low.
"We are searching for consistency, and when you are going from competition to competition, the focus changes quickly. You don't have long to get back into Premier League mode."