Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on the difficulty of not having a stable team: "It's been difficult this year. We're never going to have a stable team because of the amount of games we've played. So we're always going to be with the run that we had, playing every three games. It was always going to be a sort of a state of rotation because very, very difficult to play the same players continually.

"But, I think that was healthy for us at what sort of stages through the season because everyone was involved, everyone was playing a big part in our success. Now we're in a different moment in our season, we're playing week to week.

"We can potentially have a more stable team, but we haven't performed to the best level so I'm searching for, to a degree, the players that want to step up and play every week by performing at their best levels."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes: "He's had a full week of training and he's trained really well. I've been very pleased with him. It's been tough for him. I think you could see against Bournemouth that he came on with all the right intentions to deliver a really good physical performance, but you could see that he was struggling at times physically to adapt to the pace because he really had minimal training.

"But he was playing on heart and spirit and determination. But the week he's had this week will serve him really well. He's such an important player for us on so many levels that, of course, we're keen to get him on the pitch as quickly as possible, but I've just got to make sure it's not to his detriment. It's been great to have him back around the group, though. He's such a positive person that he can only help and inspire the players around him."

Image source, Getty Images

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on the future of the club: "We're always looking at the team and trying to make assessments and judgements for the future. That's natural. Of course, if the team is not performing then there will be bigger changes in the summer than previously. You have to react to what you see. That goes on, on a weekly, daily basis behind the scenes.

"I think the players will expect that, there is a responsibility to try and be at your best, that falls on me as well to deliver the best I can for the players and the staff. It goes with the territory."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on his side's targets: "Five wins out of five are needed for ourselves, they're needed for the club, they're needed for everybody. So I don't think we're looking at it as for Europe. I think we're looking at it that we need to win a game. First step is win a game and then try and win another one, and that's what we're trying to do."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on whether it is a good time to visit Arsenal, who are in the title fight: "I think from our perspective, we're just looking at ourselves.I think we're looking at of course how we prepare and plan the game, but we're looking at our intent and our attitude. Everything that people will be looking closely at us at the moment and rightly so. And we need to give the right answers and we need to give the right feeling in terms of how we're conducting ourselves in these moments, which is where I think you're truly judged.

"We need to show really good strength of character. We're looking for a massive performance. I think if we can produce our very best level, and I think you've seen that throughout this season invariably we've won or we've taken teams very close. So we're just focusing on our performance."

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Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on performance levels in training: "I am hesitant to say it, as I have said it the last two weeks, I thought we have trained well this week. Since we have come back to full training, which has been after the Sunderland game. We had a week before Crystal Palace with the full squad since August.

"I was pleased going into Palace and we didn't perform. I have been pleased this week and hopefully we will see the fruits of our labour. We see a much better, coherent performance than we have, The spirit in the group is good. I see a group that is hurting with results, I know we have to perform and perform for our supporters."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on fine margins in games going against his side: "I think there's been so many games where we've been leading by a goal and we've had an opportunity to double that lead and I think that would have made all the difference. We haven't been clinical in that moment, and then we haven't been clinical with our defending the other end.

"And I think we've ended up with some really tough defeats that we haven't necessarily deserved. But it's happened too many times for it to be an accident. So of course there's things that we have to improve, there's things that we're continually working on behind the scenes to try and improve those narrow defeats which I think previous seasons have been narrow victories for us. And it's those swing of those games that has really hurt us this year.

"So I don't think we're far away, but there's only one way to sort of answer that question and that's to actually grind out a tight win and then hopefully we can build from there."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on Nick Woltemade's absence from the starting XI: "It is difficult because our centre forwards have been productive. Anthony Gordon played up front, he was scoring as the number nine and now Will Osula has come in and scored as a number nine.

"It is difficult, you have to reward players for what they deliver and at the moment I have gone with a different option to Nick. There is no problem with his fitness, when he plays he has to do the same and try and deliver the goals we need."

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Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on his side's current form: "We're all feeling that pain at the moment, it has been a difficult period for us. I think we are very determined to try and put that right, we will try to win as many games as we can. Priding ourselves, historically, we lose a game, fighting to the end, giving everything to try and get a result.

"I feel the players are, currently, lacking in a bit of confidence, we have lost a bit of our normal, regular flow and rhythm we have had in historical times. There is only one way to refine that though, that is through hard work, really good period of training, players staying stable, mentally. Rediscovering football and enjoying it."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on confidence for the Arsenal game: "It is definitely an opportunity for us because the next game is always an opportunity to prove yourselves all over again, most importantly to ourselves, that we owe it to everybody at the club, to ourselves to commit everything we have to try and get a result, as we did very recently at Chelsea. We can take a lot from that game, in terms of our attitude, how we played and the spirit and togetherness we showed.

"When you have had a difficult run it can seem like you've been in it a long period of time, probably with an international break, a big length of gap we had between games, it felt that way for us. We have to tap into games we performed really well in."

Newcastle United

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon's availability: "Anthony won't make this game. He hasn't trained this week. Again, not a serious injury but not in time for this game. Hopefully, the next one."

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Newcastle United

Here's the Newcastle boss now, who starts by giving an injury update on Tino Livramento: "With Tino, he went for a scan initially. We don't think it's a bad injury. We will wait and see whether he will play again this season. He is due to have another scan at the weekend to determine the full extent of his time out."

On how Livramento is feeling: "Tino is very level-headed, very stable, mentally. I think he's had a frustrating season, such a good season last year. He was outstanding, was fit and available and really contributed to what we delivered. This year has been different. That's just the life of a footballer, I'm afraid. He has never been able to get that run of games to find his best form. He is an outstanding player, we just hope he has a better run around the corner."

Sami Mokbel
BBC Sport Senior football correspondent

At Newcastle, Eddie Howe's future has emerged as the most prevalent narrative heading into the final weeks of the season.

Key players are expected to leave before the club can strengthen, and the summer is likely to be a tricky one to navigate in terms of player trading.

Howe is revered by supporters, but it is understood there is a degree of disappointment at the club with how the season has gone.

Newcastle are estimated to have the eighth largest wage bill in the Premier League but after losing four consecutive matches are 14th in the table.

Howe has credit in the bank and retains the backing of the club's hierarchy but whether that continues remains to be seen.

• Read more on Big clubs and big names - a summer of managerial upheaval awaits

Ciaran Kelly
BBC Sport reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Eddie Howe declared there was "loads of wood stacked up” in his last pre-match news conference.

However, little more than 24 hours later, the Newcastle United head coach took an extended pause before answering whether his players shared the same fire following another bruising defeat against Bournemouth last Saturday.

It is not about to get any easier.

A trip to an anxious Emirates Stadium would ordinarily be a game Newcastle would sense a potential opportunity in.

Arsenal have lost each of their last four domestic fixtures and, though Newcastle have a poor record historically in north London, Howe’s side have tended to at least raise their game against such opponents over the years.

They even stunned Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals last season with a 2-0 away win.

But this team are a pale imitation of that side, and have lost eight of their last 11 league games.

Howe is set to face fresh questions about his ability to halt that slide and the commitment of his players.

Expect the Newcastle head coach to come out fighting once again, to give fitness updates on Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento and to look ahead to a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) visiting next week.

Ben Ramsdale
BBC Sport

From one manager facing a bit of scrutiny to another?

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is speaking now and we'll bring you all the lines from his news conference next.