Eddie Howe now says he understands why some Newcastle fans ‘booed’ what he did against Chelsea

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Things aren’t going particularly well for Newcastle United this season.

While they have laboured to a few wins here and there, Eddie Howe’s side have now lost two consecutive Premier League games.

Newcastle fell to a 2-1 loss away at Chelsea on Sunday and are up against it this week. They host the Blues in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before playing Arsenal on Saturday when the Premier League resumes.

Though there’s no suggestion Howe is under any pressure in terms of potentially losing his job, few would argue against the idea that things just aren’t going very well at the moment.

Frustration, at least, externally is certainly building.

Indeed, that appeared to come to something of a head at Stamford Bridge.

Eddie Howe responds as Newcastle fans boo his decision

According to the Shields Gazette, there was a smattering of boos amongst the away support when the Newcastle United manager opted to take Sandro Tonali off and replace him with Sean Longstaff in the 68^th minute.

Asked about the incident, Howe said: “I understand the supporters love Sandro and want to see him stay on the pitch but every decision I make, in my eyes, is for the benefit of the team and with the view of the games coming up. Sandro can only do his bit that he becomes indispensable but I think there’s more to come from him.”

Eddie Howe is developing a pattern with Sandro Tonali at Newcastle

Tonali also made way just after the hour mark against Brighton last time out but Howe insisted he had “no issues” with his performance.

Still, it is relatively strange that the Italian is yet to complete a full game since returning from his ban. Granted, so long out of the game is bound to take a toll on his fitness but the midfielder must get through a full 90 minutes at some point.

Having waited so long to see him back in action, it’s natural that Newcastle fans would be frustrated about seeing him constantly taken off, although suggesting not replacing him would instantly fix every problem in Howe’s side would of course be too much.