Spiky Howe insists his players have not lost their drive and fierce intensity

IF Eddie Howe wasn’t aware how much importance is attached to a derby performance, he was left under no illusions after a difficult morning in front of the media.

- By SEAN MCCORMACK

The Newcastle United head coach was grilled on Sunday’s 1-0 derby defeat to Sunderland and the Magpies’ stop-start season in a 35-minute press briefing at the club’s media centre at their Benton training base.

It was a press conference that was pencilled in to preview tonight's Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Fulham yet it didn’t feature a question about that game until 25 minutes in.

Given Newcastle are 90 minutes away from reaching the semifinal of a trophy they are aiming to win for a second successive season, it shows just how much ill feeling the tepid surrender at the Stadium of Light has caused among the fanbase.

And that mood change was the theme of a tense press conference.

The feeling among supporters towards the players and Howe has certainly been more negative after a meek display at Sunderland.

The United manager's stance towards the media pack was much more defensive and agitated than normal as he navigated some difficult and probing questions.

As Newcastle look to get their season back on track and respond to Sunday's disappointment, those tricky questions required answers.

Howe was asked if he understood the anger of supporters and, while he said he fully understood the reaction, he insisted he cannot be consumed by it as the ‘leader’ of the club.

He was then asked if Newcastle had lost the intensity that had transformed them from relegation contenders to trophy winners and that was the first question that seemed to get the United head coach's back up.

"I don't think that’s right," Howe retorted. "In certain games we've played a different way, mainly because it’s very difficult to continue playing that way when you're playing every three days. It’s almost impossible to play that style of football with the game schedule we've had, especially with the same set of players and injuries we have.