Paul Merson has backed Newcastle to beat Tottenham 2-1 this Sunday, but made the bizarre claim that the owners could ‘wonder how far Eddie Howe can take them’ should we suffer just our fifth defeat of the season.
It has been an incredible and unprecedented season for the Magpies and qualification for the Champions League is now on the horizon with a huge game against fifth-placed Tottenham coming up this weekend.
Virtually no Toon fan had predicted such a strong campaign. Even if we were to finish outside the Champions League spots, it would still be considered a successful year all around.
However, Merson has claimed that the owners will start to question Howe if we fall to a second consecutive defeat, insisting we have ‘got to get into the top four’ given our strong position.
It feels as though Merson is jumping the gun slightly – we have only lost four games so far, made it to a cup final, and are challenging for fourth. He clearly doesn’t understand how much backing Howe has received from the ownership.
Despite this, the former Arsenal man has predicted a 2-1 victory for the Magpies which would see us go six points clear of Spurs with a game in hand.
Speaking Sportskeeda, here’s what Merson had to say on both sides ahead of Sunday’s match:
“Eddie Howe has been brilliant for Newcastle but if they keep losing games like they did last week [at Aston Villa], things could change.
“They’ve got to get into the top four now. A couple of big defeats and the board will start wondering how far Eddie Howe can take this team.
“This is a massive match. Both teams had absolute shockers last week. I thought Tottenham was definitely going to beat Bournemouth.
“Their season’s on the line, and if they lose this game, that’ll be it. If they lose to Newcastle, they’ll be lucky if they finish in fifth place.
“If Newcastle loses this game, alarm bells will start ringing. They need to raise their standards.
“Eddie Howe needs a big result, and I think they’ll pull it off against Tottenham this week.
“Prediction: Newcastle 2-1 Tottenham.”
