Gary Neville has revealed what he thinks will happen to Eddie Howe ahead of Newcastle United’s fixture against Sunderland this weekend.
A lot is now riding on this FA Cup tie with Newcastle having been knocked out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup and are now seeing their Premier League form struggle as well.
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, Neville claimed that Howe and Newcastle simply have to beat Sunderland or he can see the fans turning quickly.
Neville says that Sunderland is a must win game for Howe
There have been a lot of big games for Newcastle this season, games which look like they could have defined their campaign, but this fixture just feels completely different.
With nothing else left to fight for, Newcastle’s season and Howe’s future pretty much rests on beating Sunderland in the FA Cup, something which no supporter could have foreseen back in August.
In a game like this performances almost go out of the window, it’s all about winning the game by any means necessary and while they may have a lot more quality on the pitch, Newcastle’s confidence has been shattered recently and they are still struggling with injuries.
Neville is backing Howe to stay regardless of the result because of the work he has done in the last two years, but he also knows that it will be very tough if the fans start to turn on him after a defeat on Wearside.
On the podcast, Neville said: “That’s what I think he will be measured by at the end of the season. Yeah, of course, if he wins the FA Cup. One thing is for certain going back to Sunderland, he can’t lose that game. That’s it. Because that will just bring the fans on top.
“I think the fans are good and they’re not sat there thinking that they’re upset with our manager or the players but I think that the Sunderland game is a bit dicey. They have some difficult games around it but I feel there’s enough credit being built up for Newcastle to be okay, but that game is a naughty little fixture.”
All the pressure is now on Newcastle
For Sunderland this is essentially a free hit – few expect them to beat Newcastle given the huge gap in quality between the two sides and their very recent history.
But it really isn’t as simple as that and it’s difficult to see Newcastle completely dominating the game in the way that many may expect because they’ve just not done that to anyone in quite a while.
It’s almost an impossible game to call because it sort of rests on how those first 15 minutes go and if Newcastle can get control of the game, but right now it’s still up in the air and both teams will feel like they’ve got a good chance of walking away with a victory.
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