Newcastle are learning the hard way about what it takes to deliver on multiple fronts domestically as they compete in the Champions League.
Their form is not good – one win in seven. They are mid-table in the Premier League, which is obviously not where they want to be, and they are further away from the top five, seven points behind.
It will get tougher and tougher as the fixture schedule is relentless with six matches over the next 17 days.
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Highlights of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg between Manchester City and Newcastle United.
After Brentford at home at the weekend, they travel to Tottenham, Aston Villa in the FA Cup and then embark on a 5,000-mile round trip to Baku to play Qarabag, with Manchester City away in the Premier League in between.
They are in the middle of a 45-day stretch with 14 games and fatigue is creeping in because of the schedule.
Eddie Howe tries not to talk too much about it because it can get into the players’ heads and it’s a really difficult situation when one leads to the other.
It is interesting what Howe said after the second leg of the Carabao Cup against Man City that he was annoyed by the performance and the fact that they pride themselves on being defensively organized.
He doesn’t usually criticize his players like that, but he must have been unhappy with what he saw – the tie was over after 10 minutes.
I can understand why he made his team press high, they had to work hard considering it was a cup tie. Perhaps he did not have the right personnel to carry out the plan, and in the right physical form.
But he also talked about what they need to do moving forward, which is to protect the confidence of the players – and that is necessary.
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Eddie Howe shares his disappointment as Newcastle’s run of Carabao Cup title defenses came to an end, following a heavy 5-1 defeat by Manchester City in their semi-final clash.
They don’t have as strong a team as Liverpool, Manchester City or Arsenal, and that is costing them.
Most of the Newcastle squad are also unaccustomed to the relentless schedule. It’s something the players are getting used to, and Newcastle are still learning about it.
Watching the Man City game, when they had those chances early on through Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon, I felt they lacked belief when they kept clean sheets. It was a stark contrast to Manchester City in how Omar Marmoush scored his two goals.
The goal opened up for Newcastle and they didn’t capitalize on their chances. I think part of it is a confidence issue, which makes Howe’s claim that they need to protect players’ confidence interesting.
However, if they win against Brentford on Saturday it will help, but the matches are coming thick and fast.
What hasn’t helped is the relative failure of last summer’s new signings to hit the ground running. Only Malick Thiav can be considered a success.
The other four signings, Nick Voltemade, Ioane Vissa, Jacob Ramsey and Anthony Elanga, totaled £220m. That’s a lot of money considering past performance.
Perhaps Elanga’s goal on Wednesday, his first since arriving for £55million from Nottingham Forest, can give Howe and his team some much-needed hope that better times are around the corner.
Howe says that if they want to play in Europe and want to play top-flight football every year, they have to qualify for the Champions League regularly – and they will have to get used to that.
Newcastle games in February
Saturday: Newcastle v Brentford – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
February 10: Tottenham – Newcastle – Premier League, kick-off at 19.30
February 14: Aston Villa – Newcastle – fourth round of the FA Cup, kick-off at 17.45
February 18: Qarabag v Newcastle – Champions League play-off first leg, kick-off 5.45pm
February 21: Man City v Newcastle – Premier League, kick-off 8pm
February 24: Newcastle – Qarabag – second leg of the Champions League play-off, kick-off at 8 p.m.
February 28: Newcastle v Everton – Premier League, kick-off 3pm