Eddie Howe will not put a target on Newcastle’s back as they attempt to continue their progress. In the space of seven days this month, the club has gone out of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup to leave themselves fighting on just two fronts as the turn of the year approaches.
That has led to suggestions from outside the city that the Magpies are in serious danger of under-achieving this season and, in some quarters, that head coach Howe’s job could be under threat.
Howe said: “My discussions with everyone connected with the football club here and the running of the football club, there’s never been that pressure of this season or next season in terms of positions in the league and expectations to win competitions.
That’s all come from us internally. “Of course, there’s an ambition, but there’s a difference, I think, between an ambition and a target that’s on your back. “Everyone here wants to see growth.