Alan Shearer perfectly clear on Eddie Howe sack situation after Newcastle job questions

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Newcastle United would be justified in backing Eddie Howe for the 2026/27 campaign, according to club legend Alan Shearer. Howe has experienced a challenging season but seems to have retained the confidence of the board to continue – and he has Shearer's support, too.

The Magpies started the campaign anticipating another Champions League adventure but a disastrous spell at the beginning of 2026 put paid to any hopes of a repeat. They won just three league games between mid-January and late April to tumble from fifth to 13th.

There have been questions over whether Howe will be backed to turn things around but Shearer is happy to see early indications that the manager is remaining in position. "He deserves the chance to go again and work with [whichever players] they decide to bring in and then hopefully have a good start to the season," the Betfair ambassador told Chronicle Live.

"I don't know what's gone on or what's going on in terms of the training ground because I I'm not part of that, but we also have to remember that these are the guys that brought Newcastle huge success. They brought [a] trophy to the club and I do think that's one of the reasons why they should be able to go again this summer and try and work out what's gone wrong."

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That trophy, the 2024/25 Carabao Cup, went the way of Newcastle after they stunned Liverpool 2-1 in the final for their first silverware in decades. They came close to returning to Wembley this year, only to be knocked out by eventual champions Manchester City in the semi-finals of the same competition.

There were bright spots in the Champions League too, notably a league phase fixture away to finalists Paris Saint-Germain and a commanding 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag in the knockout play-off round. However, Howe's men were well beaten by Barcelona in the round of 16, with the Catalan giants finding the net seven times during the second leg at Spotify Camp Nou.

Shearer has not spoken to Newcastle's owners regarding the managerial position and doesn't believe the club needs to follow Manchester United's lead in placing club legends at the forefront. "They'll have their own ideas of how they want to go forward and what's best for Newcastle," he said.

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He feels Howe and the existing coaching staff "have to be given the chance to go again." They will be backed by a new CEO and sporting director heading into the summer transfer window, where there is clearly plenty of work to be done.

A turbulent summer left Howe's side unable to build upon last season's fifth-place finish. Alexander Isak departed for Liverpool , and the two players recruited to fill his boots — Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa — have disappointed in their own respective ways.

Much will likely hinge on who departs this summer and for what fee, with Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali linked to top clubs, though for Howe's side it's a matter of striking a balance between the necessity to rebuild and an acknowledgement that certain key figures must remain to spearhead what supporters will hope is an improvement in the standings next term.

"I think [last] summer as a whole was very, very difficult for us," Newcastle's manager said ahead of Sunday's Premier League finale against Fulham . "Of course, we had no sporting director, no chief executive [and] that left a big hole for us – and looking back, I think we're in a lot better position now to hopefully execute what we need to do."

Alan Shearer was talking at the launch of Betfair’s World Cup campaign. Everyone's got an opinion, back yours at Betfair…