Newcastle United players accepted that they had dipped below the demands of the Eddie Howe regime during the 4-0 hammering at Man City last weekend – and now the head coach has made it clear he wants to see a ‘big response’.
That will start with the home game against Nottingham Forest with the encounter against Nuno Espírito Santo’s side the first of three steps to Wembley, with Liverpool (a) and West Ham (a) to follow. Howe did not accept that exposing Man City’s vulnerabilities this season was as straight-forward an opportunity as some made out in the build-up to the big loss.
And even though City’s frailties were exposed easily by Real Madrid in the Champions League with hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush not even managing a shot in the Bernabéu, Howe said his team are not at that level yet.
Howe told Chronicle Live: “I never said anything about Man City being vulnerable, they are still the best team in the build-up. The team they played against us was very strong. I don’t think we were brave enough.
“We were brave to a point but not brave enough. That fearless approach has become part of our identity.
“We have to have that against every opposition we face. I can’t talk about Real Madrid, they are a different level to us but we have to learn from our game.”
Speaking ahead of the meeting with Forest, Howe said: “There are no certainties in football, that I can say with no doubt. But I think there is an understanding that we didn’t perform.
“There is an understanding of what we didn’t do well enough. We have certainly covered that with the players and we are expecting a big response.”
Howe also revealed that he did not make the players sit down and watch the whole Etihad ordeal this week. He said: “No, I wouldn’t make them sit down and watch the whole game because I think that’s sometimes negative.
“I’m a big believer in one-to-one meetings, being very direct with what I like and what I don’t like – and that works both ways by the way, that’s just not in negative moments, that’s in positive moments. So very direct feedback, and then of course there’s a time for when the whole group needs to hear certain things, so we’ve done a bit of both this week.”
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/inside-newcastle-united-crisis-meeting-31051204
