26 December 2023 , 15:56
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Eddie Howe admitted he's “uncomfortable” after Chris Wood condemned Newcastle to a humiliating defeat.
The United boss vowed to sort out a run of eight defeats in 12 games by making ruthless selection decisions and time on the training ground. Wood netted a 15 minute treble and there were muted boos around St James’ Park, after which Howe warned: “No amount of credit in the bank is big enough. We have to change our short term form for sure.”
This time last season Newcastle were second and had lost once in the league. This was their eighth defeat of the campaign and they’re in a battle to qualify for Europe, with Liverpool up next.
Howe said: “Whenever you lose games it is an uncomfortable feeling, when your team is not at its peak.
“Concerned? You deal with a lot of emotions when you don’t get the result you want. I am feeling that. I like to keep my thoughts and analyse properly and make tweaks and changes.
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“My gut feeling is that the answer lies within. The players we have are good enough. We have suffered those injuries. We have not had it easy. We are not at our best physically.
“We were not quite at our best and when you are not you get punished. There was a lot of good first half but the last action or pass was missing and that was frustrating. We wanted to make it 2-0 and in a commanding position.
“It has been an intense period. The players have physically given everything and we have acknowledged we have not been at our best and that is all we can do. We can now return to the training pitch for the first time in what feels like months. We need training ground time to refine missing parts of our game.
“Some of our decision making was off, positioning or technically. It wasn’t a big tactical issue, we didn’t deal with moments in the game.
“I’ll be prepared to make any change that I think can benefit either the performance or the result and of course players are accountable for what they deliver.
The Magpies are on a poor run (Richard Lee/REX/Shutterstock)“No amount of credit in the bank is big enough, you have to earn everything you get from the game. I’m a firm believer in that so players know they have to perform and we have to change our short-term form for sure.
“It will be nice to build up to games and training. I think we have suffered not having training ground time. And the inability to rotate the team has caught up with us."
Skipper Kieran Trippier said: "We have been playing two games a week, week after week and some players aren't used to that. My standards have dropped.
"I'm old enough to speak about myself and my standards have been nowhere near. I've faced enough setbacks in my career to know I can bounce back."
Wood hailed a vital three points for Forest - as boss Nuno Espirito Santo hailed his side’s power on the break.
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Wood grabbed three and said: ‘This is a tough place to come. The boys did extremely well. We needed three points and it was fantastic for the side to get it. We felt like we did well in the second half, we felt like we were the better side. We showed we have quality in this team and a team that will work hard.
"I don't mind where I score! It is nice coming back to Newcastle, I really enjoyed my time here, it is a great bunch of lads and staff."
Head coach Nuno said: “It feels great. We played well and it was a well deserved win. We defended the box very well today, so many crosses, and we were a big threat on the counter. If we are able to make one or two passes we can break. We used Anthony Elanga’s speed and Morgan Gibbs-White behind and it worked out well. But scoring just before half time was huge for us and changed everything.
“Chris Wood works hard for the team. He has been in the game a while. How he scored and worked the second goal was beautiful. I am so pleased with his job. I hope he can do it again in the next game.
"He can score more and I believe in him. We have to help him.”