Eddie Howe will face fresh doubts over his Newcastle United future if he does not win the FA Cup this season.
Howe takes Newcastle to Blackburn Rovers for an FA Cup fifth round clash on Tuesday night and the competition is his only chance of winning silverware this term for the Magpies.
Losing to the Championship club would be a disaster and leave his future at Newcastle in extreme doubt.
This is due to Newcastle now mid-table in the Premier League after a recent 4-1 thumping against Arsenal, being out of Europe and the EFL Cup already done and dusted.
The FA Cup Key To Eddie Howe’s Newcastle Future
Therefore, the FA Cup becomes more important to the club than usual. Sources also say he may face a fight to survive at the club even if they get to the final and lose.
Newcastle’s PIF ownership group are focused on becoming winners and competing at the highest level. That means being in the Champions League and also fighting towards a first Premier League title.
Howe has been an important figure in building a platform for that to become possible but there are reservations about whether he will be the man to lead them to glory days.
However, winning the FA Cup would give Howe a new edge and would help show he can deliver at the top level. Sources say if he could pull off that feat, he would continue in charge.
But so much is in the air at the moment at Newcastle as they work around financial restraints, the loss of Dan Ashworth as sporting director and the potential for losing key players in the summer window.
An ongoing decision over who the manager will be next season is also going to be part of the process and Howe has his future in his own hands as he bids to put his case beyond doubt.
Jose Mourinho is currently out of work and has been tipped as a potential leading contender to become successor to Howe.
Newcastle have won the FA Cup six times in their history, with their last win in the competition back in 1955.
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