Eddie Howe isn’t doing well. But that didn’t happen with the man flu, a few sniffles, sore throats, aches and pains. No, Newcastle United’s manager has been decimated by the kind of winter bug that would send most of us to our beds to rest and recover.
But Howe didn’t stop and didn’t miss a single practice, even without the much-needed sleep. Most of his players didn’t even know he was unwell. The only sign was a severe cough that limited his ability to give instructions from the sidelines.
Howe was “fighting badly”, as one of the coaching staff put it, when Newcastle lost at Everton and Tottenham Hotspur and were knocked out of Europe by AC Milan in a Champions League group game.
They say the best leaders lead by example, and in a season where Howe made plenty of excuses, he barely hinted at any of them. Howe refused to feel sorry for himself, and that’s a mentality that’s seeped into the team.
Howe continued to work hard last week instead of taking a few days off because he wasn’t feeling well. After all, how could he expect his players to continue to push themselves physically and mentally when he could take a day off and crash into bed?
Newcastle’s strong character, work ethic, togetherness and relentless drive to work comes from Howe. It is the culture he has created that has propelled Newcastle forward at a time when many teams have faded away long ago.
Newcastle’s season had been on the verge of unraveling at various points since August, including three consecutive defeats against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton before the first international break.
Then it suddenly emerged that the star singer of the summer, Sandro Tonali, was addicted to gambling and would be banned for 10 months for violating betting rules during his time in Italy. Then the painful exit from Europe.
But each time Newcastle recovered, rolled up their sleeves and kept things on track. The 3-0 win against Fulham was the perfect tonic for a poor run of results and kept the team in the hunt for European qualification again as the season heads into the Christmas period and the opening of the January transfer window.
The victory over 10-man Fulham alone was not a remarkable result, but that should not belittle its importance. He calmed things down, helped strengthen Newcastle’s place in the top eight and set things up perfectly for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.
A difficult season (Newcastle still have 11 players injured and Tonali suspended) has been compounded by ridiculously tough cup draws. Newcastle were in the toughest possible Champions League group, but were eliminated because they were trying to win their final group games to stay in the competition, rather than going through with the draw that would have relegated them to the Europa League.
In the Carabao Cup, Newcastle beat Manchester City at home and Manchester United away to reach the last eight. A trip to Stamford Bridge felt like a dubious reward despite those two impressive victories.
But Howe and his players did not back down in the face of adversity. Whatever they lacked, it was due to effort, application and determination. They continued to tear themselves down and fans celebrated their corruption, craft and spirit even in defeat.
The same will happen at Stamford Bridge. Newcastle will once again send out a patchwork team, with centre-back Fabian Schar and midfielder Joelinton injured against Fulham, but they will go there looking for a win and not a hard-luck story.
“It goes without saying that we want to move through this,” Howe said. “By now you’ve seen how seriously we’re taking this.
“We’ve had a very tough fixture list for us in this tournament, very similar to the Champions League, and now we’re going to Chelsea so things don’t get any easier. “We’ll go in with the strongest squad and team we can.
“I think it’s a pretty obvious thing because there’s no one fit and available who wasn’t with us today (against Fulham). But we’ll try to move forward.”
Newcastle reaching the League Cup semi-finals for the second time in as many years would be more than enough of a consolation prize for their exit from Europe. But even if they lose, any talk of Howe’s job being threatened will be nothing more than outside noise.
Newcastle United’s board, led by Saudi chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, know exactly what they have on their hands in Howe and that’s why they will continue to support him. He is not under any threat from the fans or the people who employ him.