Eddie Howe said that Newcastle United needs to get back on track in the Premier League if they want to keep trying to finish in the top four. On Saturday, they will play defending champions Manchester City.
With six straight league wins going into the new year, Newcastle was a lock for the top four, but they have only won one of their last seven games and are struggling to score goals.
Last weekend’s loss to Manchester United in the League Cup final was also a hard blow, and things won’t get any better at The Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Howe says that even though Newcastle has two games in hand and is only four points behind Tottenham Hotspur for fourth place, they need to get back on track.
“We have slowed down a bit in the league. We’ve missed a few games and haven’t won the games we wanted to, so we need to get back on track,” Howe told reporters on Friday.
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“The cup final was a big distraction for us, even though we didn’t want it to be. We want to go after everything and place as high as possible.”
The Manchester United loss came after a 2-0 loss to Liverpool, but Howe said he has been happy with how his players have been acting this week.
“Sunday and Monday were rough for us, but we quickly turned our attention to Manchester City and got back to work,” he said.
“I didn’t think that my passion and drive could get stronger, but I think they have.”
Amnesty International has asked the Premier League to look again at Newcastle’s takeover by Saudi Arabia. This has made it harder for people to get excited about the City game. The takeover of Newcastle by a group led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was given the green light in October 2021 after the Saudi government gave “legally binding assurances” that it would not have any control over the north-east club.
But in a U.S. court case, this week about the PGA Tour and LIV golf, Newcastle chairman and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was called a “sitting minister of the government.” This made it seem like the club’s ownership wasn’t independent.
When asked about the situation on Friday, Howe said, “To be honest, I haven’t asked for any guarantees.” I haven’t thought about it too much. I know what’s in the news, but I haven’t really looked into the details.
