Newcastle ‘Make Decision’ On Eddie Howe Sacking After Carabao Cup Defeat

Newcastle's stance on Eddie Howe's future is clear after the Magpies' Carabao Cup defence ended at Manchester City.

Without key players Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, Newcastle travelled to the Etihad Stadium already trailing 2-0 from the semi-final first leg and requiring a historic comeback.

But despite a number of clear opportunities on goal, Newcastle found themselves 3-0 down inside 33 minutes as Omar Marmoush bagged a brace and Tijjani Reijnders got in on the act.

Anthony Elanga bagged a consolation off the bench in the second half but Newcastle were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by City, who will lock horns with Arsenal in the final at Wembley on Sunday 22 March.

Newcastle are still in the Champions League after qualifying for the play-offs but they are languishing in 11th in the Premier League, seven points off Chelsea in fifth and the same points ahead of Nottingham Forest in 17th.

Howe took over Newcastle in 2021. Image: Getty

With below-par recruitment in the summer following the record sale of Alexander Isak, pressure has increased on Howe despite the excellent job he has done on Tyneside.

There have been calls for Howe to get boot from some sections of the Newcastle fanbase and on talkSPORT on Wednesday, Simon Jordan had a conversation with Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson.

The former Crystal Palace owner suggested that Howe wasn't the right man to oversee Newcastle's next stage but Hopkinson showered the 48-year-old with praise and said he has the club's "total support".

"Eddie's our manager and he's an extraordinary manager,” Hopkinson stated.

“We just talked about how much he's envied by other clubs and the national program, so with all due respect to Simon [Jordan], I could not disagree more.

“Then I guess he won't be going to work with Simon anytime soon. But Eddie's our man and he has our total support here.”

Howe has also been touted as a future England manager, with Thomas Tuchel's deal expiring after the World Cup in North America in the summer.

Howe's Newcastle were beaten 5-1 on aggregate in the Carabao Cup semi final. Image: Getty

But Hopkinson believes there is no indication that Howe is looking to leave the project at Newcastle as he appears "happy" and "very focused".

He added: "Eddie's been a phenomenal partner to me since the day I met him. He certainly seems like a man very focused on what he's doing at Newcastle. His work rate is incredible. I really like the partnership that I have with him that Ross has with him.

“Eddie consistently indicates to us how happy he is here. Again, I see someone operating with high, high, high conviction. I'm someone who pays a lot of attention to what people say, but I pay even more attention to what they do and I see someone very leaned in and very focused."

Howe took the Newcastle job in 2021 and after steering the club to safety, went on to lead them to Champions League football on two occasions and guide the North East outfit to a first major trophy in 56 years.