Newcastle United inquest begins at training ground and…

Newcastle United inquest begins at training ground and focuses on 'slow start' to Villa loss

Eddie Howe will look to pinpoint why Newcastle United made such a slow start during the surprise capitulation at Villa Park at the weekend.

Howe understood why Newcastle made a shaky opening to the encounter at Brentford a week earlier when they were forced to fight back from a goal down in West London. Elements of the lethargic start to the game were put down to a week long stay in the capital.

But preparations to the game at Aston Villa were near perfect with no midweek game and a clear run-up to the game against Unai Emery's men. Villa though were not only allowed to make a flying start but also maintain their intensity levels throughout the game and could easily have walked away with an even bigger scoreline that 3-0 as they hit the woodwork twice and created numerous other chances.

Howe reflected on the bad defeat at Villa and said: "I think at Brentford, there was probably a reason (for the slow start). That came from the fact that we’d stayed in London and had a hectic spell of games.

"You’re probably looking at that and thinking you can understand it. Villa was less easy to explain.

"But sometimes it can just be an individual mistake that suddenly turns a game against you. We certainly need to analyse it properly."

Notably, Emery has had his Villa squad staying in a hotel and away from distractions in the build-up to home games and the ex-Villarreal boss has been treating games at Villa Park like away days to enhance togetherness in the group. Howe had respect for the job done by Emery and his team, he said: "I wasn’t surprised (by Villa). I think they’re a very good team, and they’ve got form and momentum. It’s a good group of players.

"I’m not surprised that any team can do that to you in the Premier League if you’re not quite right yourselves."

The week ahead will be spent trying to tweak individual errors and focus on Tottenham. Howe said: "I’ll have loads of different methods of work to a result like this. I will always go through the same process myself, but what I give back to the players depends on how I feel on Monday.

"I respect the group, and I respect their attitude and commitment, and what they’ve given me to this stage of the season. So there’s no fall-out from that, it’s a case of understanding why and then trying to put it right."

Newcastle United inquest begins at training ground and focuses on 'slow start' to Villa loss

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