Eddie Howe's seven second pause said more than words ever could

After facing the media in a defiant mood in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Newcastle United manager had another tough session in front of the press on Saturday after the defeat to Bournemouth.

It was another late goal, another lacklustre display and another deserved defeat for Eddie Howe's Magpies, and it came just hours after the Toon gaffer insisted he still had the fire for the job.

That fire looked to have significantly died out by 5pm on Saturday, but the question that Howe had to face up to was whether his players had a similar fire.

Usually, even after a shocker of a performance, we can pick out at least one player who tried, but on Saturday, the only players who looked like they had an ounce of care in them were Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes, both of whom came off the bench. The entire starting eleven, bar perhaps Sandro Tonali, looked like they couldn’t be bothered. 

When Lewis Hall has a bad game, you know we're in trouble.

Do the players have that fire?

So with that, Eddie Howe was asked in his post-match press conference directly, "Do the players have the same fire?"

It wasn't what Howe said that spoke volumes; it was the seven seconds of dead air that preceded his words that was deafening.

"Yeah, I’m hesitating because I’m speaking on behalf of other people, and that’s very difficult to do. Erm, I believe they do. From what I see in the training ground I don’t see any sense of poor attitude or poor commitment to their work.

"I see a group of players giving their all. I don’t see an issue with that. If I did I would say so or I would say behind the scenes and make the following adjustments so obviously my team selection in part represents that as well.

"I pick who I feel trains well and I pick who I feel deserves to play based on what I see. Of course that represents a statement if you like but that has always been the case.

"Of course we all need to give more. The players need to give more. I need to give more to turn the results around."

There is a huge problem at the club right now

Seven seconds feels like an eternity in a situation like that, and you could see the cogs turning in Howe's head. 

What he said may have been a genuine answer, but for that brief period, it just felt like Howe was debating whether or not to out those players who have checked out.

And there are definitely players who have checked out; there's no getting away from that. But why wouldn't they? Our CEO has publicly stated that we're going to have to sell big players in the summer; they'll all be wondering what their future holds. Why should they bother if they're going to get cast aside?

Mix that uncertainty with stale tactics and poor results, and honestly, why would anyone bother at all right now?