'I back myself': Eddie Howe hits out at suggestions that his job is under threat by Julian Nagelsmann

This week saw reports that Eddie Howe could be replaced at Newcastle United by Julian Nagelsmann after Euro 2024.

There is a lot of talk about Howe being under pressure by the media. The post-match press conference after the Blackburn Rovers win saw a couple of reporters desperately trying to push the narrative, but Eddie Howe dodged the questions brilliantly.

However, as he faced the media ahead of tomorrow's game against Wolverhampton Wanderers he was asked about the recent reports that Newcastle are poised to tempt 36-year-old Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann back into club management after the Euros.

Eddie Howe is confident that he is the man for the job at Newcastle

Naturally, Howe answered the question with dignity as he always does, but at what point do the media let this one drop? Howe is clearly getting bored of the question now.

Howe obviously knows it is part of the job but ask a group of Newcastle fans and the majority will say they aren't ready to give up on Eddie Howe just yet, especially given what he's faced this season - it's hardly been a fair test of his abilities.

Keith Downie posted Eddie Howe's response on X and there's a clear defiance in Howe's words.

“Genuinely it doesn’t affect me. I’m here, sat in the seat. My future will be defined by what I do, nobody else.

“It’s up to me to continually prove (that this club is off limits to big name managers). But I back myself and my abilities. I know what I bring to the job and my qualities.

“I have ambitions for the team and for the club — I can’t control what people write.”

If we give Eddie Howe the time he can get it right

On a personal note, I don't buy into this whole 'big manager' thing. There was a point in Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola's careers where they'd won nothing. Everyone starts with a blank page.

There's still plenty of time for Eddie Howe to bring in his first trophy, he's one of the younger managers in the game and has many years ahead of him. What's to say he won't become a 'big manager' himself?

Time is a manager's biggest asset. If he's given time to shape the squad, then he's got more chance of getting it right.