Eddie Howe has been warned that defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne and Wear derby could have huge ramifications for his future.
Newcastle were brutally dumped out of the Champions League by Barcelona on Wednesday night conceding seven times to the LaLiga giants to lose 8-3 on aggregate.
Eddie Howe looks on at the Nou Camp
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Newcastle have crashed out of all cup competitions in the space of the last monthCredit: Getty
It was a night the Magpies made unwanted Champions League history, and attention now turns to a home game against their bitter rivals.
Newcastle haven't won a home derby since 2010 when they demolished Sunderland 5-1 with Kevin Nolan scoring a hat-trick.
Since then, the Black Cats have enjoyed the better of the meetings between the two.
They won 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in December, but for Newcastle, this is huge.
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After back-to-back victories over Manchester United and Chelsea, the Magpies are back in contention for Europe.
But Shaun Custis is worried how another defeat to Sunderland would be perceived by the Newcastle fanbase.
When asked by host Olly Clink for his opinion on Howe, Custis, the Head of Sport at The Sun said on the latest episode of Inside The Toon: "I think there are a lot of wavers and people on the fence.
"We keep hearing the Howe out brigade, they are quite noisy but I don't think they are in the majority. But the absolutely Howe in brigade isn't as big as it used to be.
"There are a lot of people on the fence, and I really feel another defeat to Sunderland would tip them off the fence into the Howe out area."
Clink then pressed if that is how Shaun would see it as well.
"I do keep thinking about it, but possibly not because I think I'd sit on the fence, but it would tip a lot of others," Custis added.
"You do feel as if it is unfair because Howe puts in loads of work. He's tried so hard, and he's desperate to make it work.
"You really don't want his career to be defined by losing two games to Sunderland.
"We don't want that because we feel we should bigger than that - a season or a manager's future being decided by playing Sunderland.
"But unfortunately, it is coming down to that, and the majority will be in the Howe out place if we lose to Sunderland."
Newcastle have conceded the most goals in Europe's top leagues in 2026, and the second-half capitulation at the Camp Nou led to talkSPORT's chief football anchor Adrian Durham calling for Howe's resignation.
Eddie Howe reacts during Newcastle's defeat to Barcelona
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Howe has endured his most difficult season as Newcastle manager so farCredit: Getty
Equally, the away end at Barcelona was consistently chanting the manager's name throughout the contest, and the team were applauded off the pitch.
But a defeat in the derby would be very damaging in the eyes of many Toon fans.
Counter-point
Fellow guest and tactics guru from the award-winning Adam Clery Football Channel is still massively Howe in.
He feels that now the Magpies only have the Premier League to compete in, the club will end the season strongly.
He said: "I have been staunchly Eddie Howe in and a big-time Eddie Howe defender pretty much all season.
"That isn't to say I haven't been disappointed by a lot of the stuff that has happened, and I can foresee a period of fence sitting.
"My read on a lot of the games has been that even in defeat, we weren't as far away as it might have seemed, but likewise when we've won, it has also felt close.
"My biggest issue, and the reason I have given the team and the manager a pass, is that I think it is nigh on impossible to do what we're trying to do with the resources that we have available.
"A lot of people see the solution as being that another manager would get more out of this squad, and I actually agree with that, but you are talking about a fraction more with this squad, but another manager could also get a lot less.
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"We have not got another midweek game between now and the end of the season. We have got time to get players back and play the way we want to play.
"We are not going to be stretched by all these competitions. So, between now and the end of the season, we should improve dramatically.
"It'll be just like the last time we were in the Champions League [2023/24] when we had that great late-season run and would have made Europe had Manchester City not lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
"If results don't pick up and we are still suffering bad home defeats and nothing away performances, then I think it's fair to start asking questions.
"But I think you will see performances and results be quite good between now and the end of the season."
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe smiles
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Howe's team have in the past ended seasons strongly, and they have won back-to-back Premier League gamesCredit: Getty
Newcastle start the weekend in ninth place, seven points off Liverpool in fifth.
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But Crystal Palace in 14th are just three points off the Magpies, so they need to park the Barcelona game.
The momentum from a derby win would be huge, but anything less could be damaging for the remainder of the season and for Howe's long-term future on Tyneside.