Kevin Nolan knows just how much Newcastle United supporters will be hurting after the Sunderland setback.
Kevin Nolan has backed Eddie Howe to be given the time to rebuild at Newcastle United.
Reflecting on the Sunderland defeat, the former Toon midfielder - who bagged a hat-trick against the Black Cats in October 2010 - acknowledged how much the Tyne-Wear derby means to supporters. Newcastle surrendered to their bitter rivals last weekend, with Brian Brobbey bagging a stoppage-time winner at St James’ Park.
The defeat left a sour taste around Tyneside ahead of a lengthy break in fixtures. Howe’s future has also come under question - with supporters torn despite unanimous love towards the manager.
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Kevin Nolan backs Eddie Howe
Speaking to talkSPORT, former Newcastle captain Nolan sympathised with Howe, highlighting the mitigating factors behind the underwhelming campaign. He said: “I don't see anybody coming in and changing it drastically at this moment in time. I think they've got to back him in the summer.
“Obviously, he's got a big end to the season to make sure he gets in the European spots again and get as high as possible. That'll help him. But I think Eddie has been unfortunate, I think, Eddie, in times of the season. He loses (Alexander) Isak, which derailed the pre-season.
“He brings in (Yoane) Wissa and he gets his injury. (Nick) Woltemade probably hasn't worked as much as what he would have liked. Then (Bruno) Guimaraes goes and gets himself injured. When he always seems to be getting his full team back, he always gets another dig in the kidneys to go and it jolts him a bit. There's got to be some time there for Eddie.
“That comes from the bottom of the board in the summer and being patient in this moment. Listen, Newcastle fans, they're going to be upset because they've lost the derby. I was fortunate not to ever lose a derby to Sunderland score a hat-trick against them. I scored away as well against them.
“What they don't like doing is losing to the rivals and they've beaten them twice this year. They've done the double - and that will hurt a lot of the Newcastle fans. But I think, yeah, because obviously the pride of having that over your rivals is much better. But Newcastle fans are very, very loyal towards people. I think they understand what pressure Eddie is under Eddie and they're a very understanding supporters group. So I think they’ll give him time.”
Kevin Nolan on Tyne-Wear derby
Nolan also shared how much the derby defeat will mean to Newcastle fans. Reflecting on his own career, the 43-year-old noted how loyal the Toon fan base can be in times of struggle.
“I remember the week before I scored the hat-trick,” Nolan added. “I walked into the post office taking a parcel to be delivered. There was a lovely old lady, probs my in her 70s. As I left she said ‘Make sure you win on Sunday! She pulled down her top and had a Newcastle shirt underneath.
“You can’t get away from it up there. When you live in Newcastle, everybody is a Newcastle fan. They wear that black-and-white shirt with pride. They’ll all be hurting but, if anyone can come back, Eddie can regain the trust and get them where they belong.
“Even the (dark) time, a lot of it was directed towards Mike Ashley. They (the fans) were always there. The last game against Villa when we went down, I always remember it being quite surreal. They stick with you. They were brilliant.
“Even in the first game in the Championship, we had 42,000 there. Even though there were a lot of people not happy, 42,000? And that was supposed to be a mass walk-out. We knew then that we had to make sure we did these proud. By the end of it, we were back selling out stadiums and got us back where we belong.”
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