Eddie Howe insisted his self-belief remained intact and unshakeable after watching Newcastle sustain an eighth defeat in their last 11 Premier League matches.
“My belief in myself can’t waiver and it’s not,” said Newcastle’s manager after Bournemouth’s 2-1 win at St James Park. It was a fourth straight reverse in all competitions for Howe’s team and arrived after goals from Marcus Tavernier and Adrien Truffert extended the visitors’ unbeaten run to 13 league games.
“Despite what other people say, I have to retain a belief in my work and my staff and what I do,” Howe said. “But of course, I am very aware that eight defeats out of 11 is not good enough. Winning games is the very simple remedy but it’s very hard to deliver. Momentum is against us and you can feel that in the big moments in games.
“There was a lack of goalmouth action from our perspective and we haven’t defended anywhere near well enough. We’re not quite there at the moment. What’s happening is systemic. I’m beginning to say the same things over and over again. That’s a great frustration.”
Howe, whose 14th-placed side visit Arsenal next weekend, knows his position is being reviewed by Newcastle’s hierarchy. “Why is this happening?” he wondered. “It’s a difficult one for us to answer. I’m feeling all the negative emotions.”
The 48-year-old remains adamant his coaching regimen is not too blame. “We take pride in what we do,” he said. “Our preparation is total. Training last week was as intense as at any time this season. We don’t coach rigidity, we coach fluidity. And, from what I see on the training ground, I don’t see any issues with poor attitude. I see total commitment.”
Was it a lack of confidence? “To play here is a beautiful and amazing experience,” replied Howe, who lost his England full-back Tino Livramento to a second-half hamstring injury. “But there will be challenging moments. You have to be strong enough to deal with it.
“In recent weeks we’ve become too easy to beat; there was no reason for us to lose this game. There wasn’t too much between the teams today but we haven’t done well enough in the big moments. It’s becoming a pattern. But, of course, the situation can be turned round.”
Andoni Iraola had announced he would be leaving Bournemouth this summer but news of the manager’s impending exit failed to interrupt the impressive momentum of his team, who moved within four points overnight of Liverpool in the last Champions League place.
“I’m very happy,” said Iraola. “We kept our composure, we always wanted to keep the ball. Newcastle had a reaction after half-time and they were pressing us a lot more but we stayed calm. When they equalised we didn’t panic.
“I hope we can keep this momentum. This feeling is good. If we qualified for Europe it would be massive. I want the players to have this chance. It would be amazing for the players and for the players to be in Europe for the first time. I think they believe they can achieve it.”
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