Eddie Howe has admitted that the 'rare' stability at Newcastle United has enabled the Magpies to be 'successful' at a time when Sunday's opponents Spurs are in crisis.
Newcastle, who have a game in hand on Spurs, have the chance to move six points clear of their top four rivals at St James' Park at the weekend. While Newcastle still have seven games to play beyond that, the black-and-whites know they could land a huge psychological blow in the race for the Champions League against Spurs, who have won just two of their last six matches.
Spurs are currently without a permanent manager - Cristian Stellini has taken charge on an interim basis after Antonio Conte was sacked last month - while Fabio Paratici resigned as the club's managing director of football on Friday after losing his appeal against a 30-month ban. Although Howe stressed he would 'never comment on another football club', the Newcastle boss acknowledged the contrasting stability behind the scenes at St James' had played its part in his side's Champions League push this season.
READ MORE: Everything Eddie Howe said on Spurs, injuries and Villa response at Newcastle press conference
"I would say we have been stable and really well run from above," he told reporters. "There has been a clarity in terms of what we can and can’t do. There has been a vision. The hard bit is to try and carry all of that out day to day, but that stability and trust has enabled us to be successful in the time we have been here.
"It’s rare to have that stability at a Premier League football club because the pressures you are working in are so high. Hopefully that can remain for as long as possible."
On the field, meanwhile, things turned so toxic in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium during Spurs' 3-2 defeat against Bournemouth last week that substitute Davinson Sanchez had each touch booed by his own supporters after being at fault for two of the Cherries' goals. Sanchez was then ironically cheered when he was taken off. In contrast, the away end stuck with Newcastle's players following a 3-0 loss against Aston Villa last week. Indeed, it was noticeable how many Newcastle fans stayed behind to applaud the players at Villa Park.
After the game, Kieran Trippier vowed that Newcastle would respond, pointing to his side's 'great mentality' and 'great togetherness' and the Magpies have previously bounced back from painful defeats. Following the Carabao Cup final loss against Manchester United, for instance, Newcastle went on to win five of their next six games.
"It's when you have a disappointing moment that you're truly tested as a person, as a squad, as a team member," Howe said. "How do you react in that moment?
"I would say we need to try and act the same way, whether we are winning or whether we are losing. It's very easy to say, but very hard to actually deliver.
"One of the really important characteristics of our team is there is that support for each other while we have to recognise if you don't perform at the same time. You have to be accountable.
"You have to take constructive criticism in the right way and, as soon as you are digesting the defeat, you move on. You have to move on very quickly in football so, by the time we were training again, all the focus was on Tottenham - not on Aston Villa. Touch wood, to this moment, we have responded really well."
Following a period on the road, Newcastle return home on Sunday, knowing that they have suffered just a single defeat at St James' all season. Six of Newcastle's final eight fixtures of the campaign are at home and these games will go a long way to deciding whether the Champions League anthem is playing at the stadium next season.
“People cannot underestimate its power and its importance," he added. "We certainly don’t. A united crowd when we came to the football club was one of the most important things we needed to do - if not the most important.
"We needed to get a link between the team and the supporters because we needed to make St James' Park a feared place to come. Our early performances helped us do that. We generated a really good momentum at home. The key thing is to keep that from both sides."
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