Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has predicted that Eddie Howe will leave the club in the summer following the club’s disappointing campaign.
The Magpies find themselves 14th in the Premier League table a season after they qualified for the Champions League and won the Carabao Cup.
It comes after new signings have struggled to step up to the plate, with big-money forwards Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa both benched in recent weeks.
The club’s form has led to some questioning the position of Howe – and Shearer has shared his fears for the Englishman.
He said on his The Rest is Football podcast: ‘As tough as it is for Eddie, I don’t know what is going to happen with him.
‘I listened to his interview afterwards (after the defeat by Bournemouth), I watched him on the touchline, I just think, is he going to want to go again? Is he going to get a chance to go again?
Alan Shearer (pictured) has predicted that Eddie Howe will not be in charge of Newcastle next season
Howe (pictured) has overseen a season of struggle at the Magpies, who are 14th in the Premier League table
‘If all things are equal then I would like him to stay, but does he feel he is going to have the chance? Does he want to do it again? Are Newcastle United going to have to sell?’
He added: ‘I don’t see Eddie Howe in charge of Newcastle next season, unfortunately. I look at his interview and I’m not sure the fight is there.’
Newcastle have lost their last three games 2-1 as their season threatens to fall off a cliff, with a defeat by local rivals Sunderland the worst of the lot.
Howe has found himself chopping and changing in a bid to find his best team, but is unable to find the right combination.
‘I looked at the players and if that was what they call fighting for their manager, they were terrible,’ Shearer said. ‘The players chucked him under the bus.’
Shearer’s prediction comes despite a rallying cry from Howe last week that appeared to suggest he would remain at the club.
‘I just want to serve the club and do what’s right for the football club,’ he said prior to Newcastle’s defeat against his old side Bournemouth. ‘That’s always been my aim.
‘If that’s me leaving to help the club, then of course that’s something I’ll do, I’ve got no issue doing that.
‘It’s not about me. But if I believe I’m the right person to take the club forward, which I do currently right now, then I’ll do that and I’ll fight to the end.
‘I’ll fight harder than I’ve ever fought before, but it’s about making sure that those two things are aligned.’