Eddie Howe: The players are battling for their Newcastle futures

NEWCASTLE: Eddie Howe has laid down the gauntlet to his Newcastle United players, after stating that they are playing for their futures at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have suffered an end-of-season drop-off in form in recent weeks. After going nine games unbeaten in the Premier League, they have lost their last three, albeit all of them were away from home.

The 5-1 humbling by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in particular brought Newcastle down to earth with a bump, after the lengthy unbeaten run had helped them pull 10 points clear of the bottom three. Their last three results have left them just seven points clear of the relegation zone, with eight games to play.

The recent defeats, including the second-half capitulation in North London this week, prompted some observers to question whether the players thought they were safe and had taken their feet off the gas too soon. Howe insists that is not the case.

“I think everyone’s always playing for their future,” said the head coach. “Every day in training, I’m making assessments and judgments on character, on attitude, and that’s where you really see what the players are like, behind the scenes, day to day.

“My expectations on the training ground are very high. I want everyone to give their best in every moment, so some players can find that a challenge. But that’s what you need for long-term success, so every day I’m analyzing and making decisions about people’s futures based on what I see.”

The hammering by Spurs sparked a lot of criticism and Howe believes the players should take it on the chin.

“Yeah, and rightly so,” he said. “I think there should be criticism for our second-half performance. Certainly, I was very critical of it and I know the players were