“I fear for him” - Alan Pardew feels Eddie Howe's days are numbered

Eddie Howe is still under immense pressure as Newcastle United boss from certain sections of the Toon fanbase.

A run of five consecutive defeats has caused a rift amongst the supporters, with some fans wanting immediate change in the dugout, while others are happy to see the club stick by their man.

Despite another defeat on Saturday against Arsenal, Newcastle looked greatly improved and actually gave the title hopefuls a good run for their money. If the Magpies were able to crack that final action, they could have come away with something on Saturday.

It wasn't meant to be, however, and the pressure remains on the Newcastle boss.

Alan Pardew fears for Eddie Howe's future

For now, it seems, the media are still behind Eddie Howe, but former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew knows how quickly opinion can change, and he told talkSPORT that he fears the day the local press starts to side with the vocal minority.

“It's not good at Newcastle, and on the back of the season they're having, I mean… they're currently 14th. With four defeats, it's a tough run for him. And as I said to you before, I know the media pack up there. They will lean to the fans. Wherever the fans are leaning, and I think they're leaning to ‘We need a change’, that's where the media will go.

“They won't even give a counterargument. They'll talk about Eddie being brilliant, etc (and then) be like, ‘Oh, it’s time to go. So he's got that to park with as well. I fear for him but, personally, I hope he stays. I think he's done a terrific job and I think he's a great manager. What has he got left? Four games left, I think he's got to win three of them (to keep his job)."

We're not as worried as Pardew

We get that Pardew is speaking from experience there, but with all due respect to him, he never brought Newcastle a trophy or got them into two Champions League campaigns and two cup finals.

Eddie Howe has significantly more credit in the bank than Pardew had, and, at least for now, that's at the forefront of the minds of the local press who appear to be fighting tooth and nail for the 'Howe In' side of the debate.

Of course, things can change rapidly in football, and should Newcastle lose all four remaining games, the narrative could shift. However, we don't think he needs to win three of the last four.

We're not even sure how realistic that is. Brighton always causes us problems, so that's already a worry for Saturday. West Ham and Nottingham Forest are fighting for their lives and are doing a good job of it, so neither of those games will be easy, and Fulham believe they have a shot of getting into Europe, so if that dream is still alive on teh final day of the season, they're going to be extremely up for it.