Newcastle: Eddie Howe would resign as manager if he had doubts

Newcastle have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions, but Howe retains the backing of the club’s hierarchy.

He has had a transformational impact since his appointment in 2021, beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last year and taking Newcastle into the Champions League twice.

Newcastle will be favourites to progress to the last 16 of the Champions League against Azerbaijan side Qarabag and have a FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Newcastle head coach acknowledged he was going through one of the toughest periods of his reign but is drawing on the experiences of previous difficult periods to turn things round.

“Those experiences I have been through countless times before stand me in good stead for this moment,” he added.

“The collective spirit is what we’re after. We’re after the collective fight from all the players and if you have that resolve within the group, you can do amazing things again, so it can turn very quickly.

“The momentum is against us at the moment. We have to swing it back and then the world can look a very different place within a couple of games.”