And the head coach's considerations were further complicated after Bruno Guimaraes became the latest [Newcastle](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/newcastleunited/?ref=ed_direct) star to pick up the illness that has been spreading around the camp in the last couple of weeks, forcing the captain to train alone on Tuesday.
Howe, his coaching staff and the players went through some detailed and what Dan Burn described as "very painful" analysis into what went wrong after the dreadful showing in the 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday.
And while Howe insists it's now time for Newcastle to put that performance and loss behind them, the head coach must decide whether he rings the changes for Athletic Club or gives the players who featured at the London Stadium the chance to make amends.
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"I'll always consider the team selection in great detail," said Howe ahead of Newcastle's third home Champions League game of the campaign so far.
"I never set out to make a statement, I just set out a team to win the next game, that's the only statement we need to make.
"That's what I'll try and do on this occasion. It's a difficult team to pick on the back of Sunday because you could make wholesale changes or you could give the main group of players the chance to redeem themselves for what we delivered.
"I'm still not 100% there with my team, although it's 99% there."
Howe refused to use the recent illness in the camp as an excuse for Sunday's display, and the head coach was set to make a final decision on Bruno on Wednesday.
He said: "There seems like there's been a bit of illness going through the squad because that's various players now picking something up. Sandro initially, Jacob Murphy, Bruno, Kieran. We're making a decision on Bruno tomorrow.
"He's such an important player but he's clearly not been himself and that's why he missed training today."
Howe was asked whether he's owed a performance by his players after the West Ham showing.
He said: “Well, I don't think they owe me because I think I'm very much included in that bad performance, so I look at it that way, that we're all together and we all have to deliver better, so we're very focused on trying to do that with the players.
“There's always a feeling of frustration, different emotions when you play that way that you then try to use to your advantage for the future.
“As you say, historically we have usually responded pretty well, we've tried to use performances like that as a catalyst for better, to try to learn from the experience.
“It's not the first time it's happened, it won't be the last. When you're in this game, especially with the amount of games we have to play, there will be dips in performance.
“But it's controlling that and, as I've said many times, even when you don't play well, you can still win and we didn't deliver that aspect at all well."