Newcastle United continue to throw points away and leak goals
Eddie Howe
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Image)
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Eddie Howe admits the defensive issues at Newcastle United are 'alarming' and has warned the squad they must come up with a number of solutions to the problems they face.
The Magpies are now five games without a win after a dismal defeat and performance against Brentford at St James' Park on Saturday night. Newcastle lost 3-2 despite leading 1-0 early on via a Sven Botman header, and then pegging the visitors back to 2-2 with just 10 minutes left on the clock.
It's now 19 points that Newcastle have thrown away from winning positions - the most in the Premier League - while they have conceded 10 goals in their last three games.
Howe admits he is struggling to understand the reasons behind the lack of defensive stability when going ahead in games. He said: "It's been a consistent theme for us this year, we've chucked away so many points from winning positions.
"It's a really strange and difficult one for us to work out because, of course, scoring that early in the game the plan is to continue and play the same way and to not change anything.
"But psychologically I think there was a difference. There was a change from us and that induced the two goals we conceded.
"It's a head-scratcher for us. It's happened too many times for it to be a one-off, something we've got to work on."
Bruno Guimaraes' penalty brought Newcastle level as they headed into the closing stages, only for Brentford to seize the momentum again and find a winner via Dango Ouattara.
"In that moment we are the aggressors, we're the team that looks like it could go on and win the game," Howe bemoaned. "And we switch off momentarily and we get caught with a goal that we should never concede.
"We are going through that run where we are conceding goals at an alarming rate. We aren't defending well enough as a group and it's really impacting our ability to get points.
"It's something we have to stop and adjust what we are doing very quickly.
"I think there's a mix, it's not one thing. I think there's probably physical issues in there, I think there's concentration issues in there, I think there's the actual art of defending issues in there - I don't think we've done that well enough.
"Individual accountability, the way we are playing, what we are asking the players to do tactically - I think there's a whole mix of things we need to find solutions to.
"Real character, real strength of leadership from the players and from myself. No one is going to give us anything, we are going to have to earn it."
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