A furious Eddie Howe slammed the mentality of his Newcastle United players after a damning defeat to West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday. The Magpies had a nightmare outing at the London Stadium as they gifted the Hammers their first home win in nine months. After the loss, Howe's side have now slipped to 13th place in the Premier League table, with just three wins from their first 10 matches.
A day to forget for Newcastle
The Magpies started the game on a bright note as Jacob Murphy put the visitors in front after just four minutes. The right-winger weaved in and out of the Hammers defence before striking hard into the bottom-left corner. But Newcastle could only hold onto their lead for half an hour as Lucas Paqueta, looking to lead West Ham to safety, curled an effort from distance past the diving Nick Pope. Ten minutes later, an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cutback was turned into his own net by Sven Botman to give the hosts the lead. Newcastle pushed, but were unable to find a way back into the game and Tomas Soucek bundled home in injury time to seal the three points.
It was the Magpies' fourth defeat of the season, as it left them struggling in 13th in the league table with just three wins from their first 10 league games. Star forward Anthony Gordon drew a lot of criticism as his Premier League goal drought extended to 19 matches.
AdvertisementAFPHowe tears into Newcastle players
Speaking to reporters about his team's performance after the game, a frustrated Howe said: "The dynamism wasn't there. The physicality and the energy were missing. We scored early and could have grabbed hold of the game but we didn’t and let it slip away. It didn't look like a Newcastle team that we've seen in recent seasons. The body language, the collective spirit on the pitch, loads of little things weren’t there. It was a by-product of us just not being where we needed to be mentally."
On subbing off stars like Gordon and Nick Woltemade, the English coach added: "I could have taken anyone off. That is a reflection of where we were at that stage of the game. It is very rare for me to feel that way. I don't think I have since I have been Newcastle manager."
West Ham relieved after regisering first home win in nine months
Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo was happy to gift the West Ham fans the victory over the Magpies, as the Portuguese coach said: "I think the fans saw something in the team today. This is what we want. How can we as a team show to our fans that we want to fight and we want to change the situation."
He added: "The players are realising that winning in the Premier League, we have to work very hard. We will do it again. The win makes it easier, there are smiles and the legs feel easier. We see slight improvements on the pitch. We have to create a platform on the pitch."
Captain Jarrod Bowen told Sky Sports: "It’s obviously been a difficult period. But when I’ve spoke to the lads, [I’ve said] we’re the only ones who change it. When mine [my shot] hit the post… sometimes you think ‘Is our luck going to change?’ But we stuck at it and we went on to get a comfortable win. Yes, it’s been frustrating. But we have so much potential in this squad, and I’ve told the team, it’s up to us to go out and show it."
Getty Images SportNewcastle aim for comeback in Europe
Newcastle's players will now shift focus to Europe and aim to get back to winning ways after the disappointing away defeat against West Ham. In the Champions League, Howe's men have registered back-to-back wins after going down against Barcelona in their opening game. They next host Athletic Club at St James' Park on Wednesday before facing Brentford in a Premier League clash on November 9, their final game before the international break.