Eddie Howe admitted he was going through one of his toughest times Newcastle But the manager insists he’s still the right man for the job.

3-2 defeat at home to Brentford on Saturday It was their fourth in five games in all competitions Newcastle are 12th in the Premier League table Ahead of tomorrow night’s game at Tottenham.

Howe is starting to feel the pressure from a demanding fan base and admits that results need to be turned around if Newcastle are to achieve their season objectives.

Asked if this was his toughest time since joining the Saudi Arabian-owned club in 2021, he said: “Yes I think so. Anytime where you’re not getting the results you want. It’s been a tough run of games and it’s going to be a tough run of games for us but that’s where we all need to show our strength of character and our determination and resilience.”

I will fight for Newcastle – Hove

It will be a season-defining fortnight for Newcastle with a trip to Spurs with an FA Cup fourth round tie at Aston Villa before a two-legged Champions League play-off against Qarabag at Manchester City either side of a league game at Manchester City.

Despite the growing turmoil, Howe is adamant he is the right man to take the club forward.

He added: “There’s no doubt in my mind (I’m a real man) and that’s why I’m sitting here. If there was, I wouldn’t be, because the club is the most important thing. I’ll never put myself before the club.

“As far as I feel in my heart and in my soul, my level of desire and motivation is as high as it has ever been. I will fight to my maximum for the club every day.

“If I didn’t feel I was the right man to take the team forward and give the players what they wanted, I would step aside and let someone else do it.”

Howe says he will lead from the front in trying to navigate this current crisis.

“Everyone is looking to you to set the tone,” he said. “People want to follow, it’s human nature. If you have strength in these moments as a leader you can pull everyone along with you and that’s why it’s important to stand up and show your character and how much it means to you. That’s what I and the staff are trying to do and are going to do.

“The unity aspect is important, if you don’t have it you lose everything. At the moment we still have that and that’s the most important thing. The supporters, even on Saturday, were incredible for us and that’s never taken for granted.”

Newcastle will have to sort out their defensive woes

Newcastle have conceded 10 goals in their last three games and Howe admits they need to improve defensively.

He said: “We’ve got to defend better. You look back at the last run of games we haven’t defended enough. We need to find solutions to our defensive weaknesses. And we’re not clinical enough at the other end.”

Newcastle will carry out fitness tests for Lewis Miley and Anthony Gordon – who both missed the Brentford game – while Lewis Hall is also a doubt after sustaining a knock against the Bees.