After a week of scrutiny for a performance on the pitch, Eddie Howe was back to his best off it.
During a 30-minute media briefing on Friday, the Newcastle head coach was calm, clever and calculated. Give him a blank bit of paper, he said in reply to a Mail Sport question about not knowing his best team, and he could write down the 11 names. The problem, he said, was that those stars are not shining on grass. It was a warning, you felt, to the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon.
He did not reject any of the criticism that has followed last weekend’s 3-1 defeat by Fulham, in which his side were unrecognisable to the point of alarm. An over-reaction given it was the first loss of the season? Howe did not think so, and for all the noise on the outside in recent days, it sounds as if riot acts have been read on the inside.
‘We did not like ourselves (at Fulham),’ he said, with Manchester City the visitors on Saturday. ‘It wasn’t a great reflection of our style and way of playing. So there have been some honest conversations this week, and hopefully there’ll be a response.
‘We have a responsibility to show our true selves, to turn up and give our best. The players are very honest with themselves as well. They know that last week was not good enough. That internal reflection can be healthy and, sometimes, a performance like that can be healthy for the long-term, if you use it in the right way. We need some people to step up within the team, and that will have a galvanising effect on the group.’
Eddie Howe sent out a warning to members of his Newcastle starting XI that have underperformed this season
Following a summer of speculation linking him with a move away, Anthony Gordon is yet to hit the heights of last term
Bruno Guimaraes was at fault for Fulham’s third goal in the Magpies disappointing 3-1 loss
Mail Sport put it to Howe that there were no partnerships and patterns to his team’s play this season – a hallmark of previous campaigns – and that he was still striving to find a settled XI.
‘I’d agree with that point, I’ve got no issue with that,’ he said. ‘We’re a bit transitional with that, in the sense of finding the balance. The issue for me is that, given a blank sheet of paper and you say, “Go on, write down what your best team is”, I don’t think that would be difficult for me.
‘The problem is, you have to justify your selection, so those players have to be in their best form. What you can’t do is pick that team if it doesn’t deserve to play. I hope you follow me.
‘If you’re not earning your place, you can’t play. So we’re in that moment, early season, where players haven’t been in their best form. It’s difficult to pick players if they’re not playing continually well. I’m at that stage now where I’m going to have to make some difficult decisions, I think.
‘But whatever team you pick, that team has to commit to what it’s being asked to do and deliver a performance in line with what we’ve been used to watching here. If one player in that 11 doesn’t follow the plan or doesn’t deliver what you ask them to do, the whole plan falls apart.
‘That’s the challenge for us, to forget everything else and get back to our very best levels in terms of our energy and our running. If we can do that, the ability will come back.’
Much of the focus has been on a malfunctioning midfield, but Howe believes it comes back to applying the basics before anything else.
Howe has put his players through their paces ahead of Saturday’s visit of Manchester City
Howe has called for his side to deliver a ‘Newcastle performance’ against Man City
‘I’ve got no issue with the balance in midfield,’ he said. ‘Against Fulham there was a bigger problem. Whoever plays, we’re looking for them to deliver a Newcastle performance.’
Howe has delivered his best at the training ground this week, it is over to his players to do the same at St James’ Park on Saturday.