Eddie Howe out? I can't believe what I'm reading...

We were all left wounded by yesterday's Boxing Day defeat at St James' Park, as it was undoubtedly our most alarming loss of the season and a pretty pathetic second-half collapse.

However, some of the reactions I've seen have been equally concerning all over social media, with some immediately questioning if Eddie Howe has taken us as far as he can. The vocal minority? Maybe. These are my thoughts...

One bad run in amongst an injury crisis, where fatigue levels have deepened after 10 games in 30 days and we're seeing some turn on him already. Yesterday was BAD, it’s been a devastating few weeks and our away form must improve, but I can't believe what I’ve read over the past 24 hours. His achievements in the past two years have already bought him time, patience and support, not to mention there's also so many mitigating factors behind our recent struggles.

Don’t get me wrong, the next month feels huge, I just find it quite sad that Howe can achieve what he has - transform squad, secure a top four finish, take us to Wembley and come within a whisker of the the last 16 of the Champions League and a cup semi-final - then be questioned to THIS degree (by some sections of the fanbase) the first time things turn ugly.

A victim of his own success? That’s my worry. Overachieved last season and this year was always going to be a huge challenge, we've had awful luck with injuries, horrible draws and a major setback with Sandro Tonali's unforeseen suspension.

It’s good to be ambitious, yet we've generally looked exactly that under Eddie Howe. We've seen proof that he’s got what it takes; he improves players, gets it/us, given the club identity, is a workaholic and has made St James' Park a fortress again. Yes, some of that has no bearing on our wretched away form and performances like yesterday, but how some fans lose faith this quickly is sad to see. 

He’s got some things wrong and it’s not all down to injuries, fatigue, tough draws and unforeseen setbacks - he has sometimes managed players minutes poorly, played a style of fatigue levels can't cope with or selected the wrong side (Burn over Livramento made no sense against Forest). However, I believe he’ll learn from mistakes over this spell and come out of it a better manager.

I’m concerned by this run we're on and the nature of yesterday's defeat was alarming, but I’m keeping the faith and really hope you are too.