Newcastle are lucky they have not been dragged into a relegation battle – they are the worst team in the Premier League.That’s the bold view of talkSPORT’s Inside The Toon panel, who believe that Eddie Howe‘s time in charge at St James’ Park must be soon coming to an end.Newcastle have failed to reach the heights expected of them this campaignGettyThe Magpies currently languish 14th in the table having suffered three consecutive defeats in the top-flight.Sunderland, Crystal Palace and most recently Bournemouth have all inflicted 2-1 losses on the Toon.And things could get worse for the Tyneside outfit when they travel to Arsenal on Saturday.Newcastle’s current form has led to fans to question whether Howe, who guided the club to Carabao Cup glory last term, is the right man for the job.talkSPORT understands that Jose Mourinho has admirers amongst the Newcastle board, while Xabi Alonso and Oliver Glasner are two other candidates who have been tipped to potentially succeed Howe.As it stands, Newcastle sit 11 points off the bottom three with five games to go and aren’t in any real danger of dropping down into the Championship.And according to the Inside The Toon panel, they have Tottenham Hotspur to thank for ensuring their Premier League status for another campaign following Spurs’ 2-2 draw against Brighton last time out.Commenting on on the club’s situation, talkSPORT’s Jack Cunningham said: “It’s very sad what’s happened this season.“We can go back to just over a year ago, we won our first domestic trophy in 70 years.“And now we’re here, sitting in 14th place, very likely to finish below Leeds to be brutally honest in 15th.Howe is under pressure at St James’ Park with the Magpies losing three league games on the bounceGettyNewcastle have won just five out of their 14 Premier League matches in 2026“We’re a bit lucky in a lot of ways that the season is not going on a little bit longer.“This form has been terrible the whole second half of the season, we’re actually fortunate with [Nick] Woltemade up front that we scored a load of goals and got some points.“Because otherwise, we would be deep in a relegation battle.”Interjecting, host Olly Clink then stated: “Is it just me who is happy we’re over 40 points? Seriosuly, with this form? It’s ridiculous.”Cunningham then continued: “I’m watching us, and Spurs fans will probably disagree, but I thought Spurs actually showed something against Brighton.“I’m not going to say encouraging signs! But they showed something against Brighton.Newcastle will be looking to bounce back against Arsenal at the Emirates on SaturdayGetty“[And] I think watching us, I think we are the worst team in the league at the moment.“There is nothing from anyone, there’s no energy, there’s no life, there’s no ideas coming from the side.“It’s so lifeless, and we’re so soft! Newcastle used to be a horrible team to play against.“You go back to that game against Arsenal in the 2022/23 season when we got that 0-0 [draw], the ball was in play for about 30 minutes.“Arsenal fans hated that, they hated that, because we absolutely nullified them, and everyone didn’t like us.“We were masters of the dark arts, and now we’re just a soft touch, we concede from nothing!Inside The Toon on talkSPORTtalkSPORT does Newcastle like nowhere else.Stay ahead of every tactical shift, manager sacking and transfer rumour by making talkSPORT’s Inside The Toon show your weekly go to for all things Magpies related.Subscribe now to ensure you never miss a beat of the action one episode at a time, sponsored by BetMGM.Download the app or visit BetMGM.co.uk. 18+gambleaware.org“I don’t even think Bournemouth were good! Bournemouth were so much better against Arsenal, they didn’t have to be good [vs Newcastle], that’s the thing, they didn’t have to be good to win.”Head of Sun Sport Shaun Custis then remarked: “I think if Spurs had won, we would be talking about, ‘Are we in a relegation battle or on the fringe of it?’“I do feel we would have been because we would have been getting really alarmed because we wouldn’t have seen where the next point is coming from.“Fortunately, they only drew, I feel that we’re far ahead now to avoid relegation, which is something you can’t believe you were ever going to be talking about.”Attention then switched to Howe’s future at Newcastle.But despite steering the club away from relegation in 2022, before taking the Magpies to the Champions League twice along with scooping silverware, it appears fans begrudgingly believe this term should be his last at the helm.Howe took charge of Newcastle in November 2021 when they were battling relegationClink remarked: “It just feels to me, that these players are really letting down the management team.“Look, they have made loads of mistakes, don’t get me wrong, but for me, this group of players are completely letting down Eddie Howe and his staff.“And the affect that will have on the legacy of Eddie Howe, whether he stays or goes, I just think is a real shame.”After Clink then stated he believes Howe has come to ‘the end of his cycle’, Cunningham said: “I’ve obviously been Eddie Howe In for a long time.“I want him to turn it around, but I’ve got to be honest, I don’t see it, and it was the Palace game.“As much as we’ve lost to Sunderland twice, we got hammered by Barcelona, it was that Palace game for me, because there was so long to work with the players – yes I know some of them were [involved] in the international break, but a lot of them weren’t.Newcastle have been beaten in five of their last six Premier League home matchesGetty“They come back and there was nothing new whatsoever, there was no new energy, there was no anything, and it felt as if he has just run out of ideas, he looked like a defeated man.”Before adding: “I’m now in the camp, and as sad as it is, where I think a fresh start – squad and manager – is actually the best thing for Newcastle United.”After Clink raised the question as to whether Howe is allowed a bad season for what he has achieved at the club, Custis stated: “Not this bad.“I think this one’s been a lot worse than we expected and you can’t feel that we could wipe the slate clean, start next season and everything will be rosy.”When press whether he is now in the Howe Out camp, Custis reluctantly said: “I’m feeling like that’s where it’s heading, but I know it’s going to be a really sad day, but it is heading that way. There is no pleasure from it.“I don’t want to hound him out or anything like that, I feel we’re reaching that natural conclusion, that’s what’ll happen.”1: Premier League Fixtures & Results