Eddie Howe has warned his Newcastle United squad that we’ll miss out on European football next season if we continue to play as we did at Crystal Palace last night.
Speaking to the media after the 2-0 defeat which saw us muster our first shot on target in the final few minutes, Howe described it as a “missed opportunity” on a night that saw Man Utd move up to sixth following their 4-2 win over Sheffield United.
Howe insists we are “still very much in control” of our destiny – we have Sheffield United and Burnley to come in our next two, along with a trip to Old Trafford – but has urged his players not to let this season “peter out” ahead of our final five games.
“We can’t let this season peter out. We have a huge responsibility to keep driving ourselves forwards. Today is a big dip for us, but we have a chance (against Sheffield United) very quickly to bounce back.
“It’s a missed opportunity. We’re still in the mix (for Europe), but we can’t play like we did today if we’re going to maintain our push for the European places. There’s a lot to reflect on.
“It’s still very much in our control of what we do,” Howe added. “We can have a really successful season. We’ve been really consistent in the last four games, where we’ve delivered big efforts to get results, but this feels like a flat feeling, that we haven’t delivered that.
“We have to take accountability for that, and make sure the uncomfortable feeling we’re encountering now, we put right on Saturday.”
