Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has said this is a time to support rather than criticise his suddenly struggling players and reminded supporters that the Saudi Arabian-owned club is “miles ahead of schedule”. Newcastle face Fulham at St James’ Park on Saturday hoping to avoid a fourth straight defeat in all competitions and still sore from Wednesday night’s Champions League exit against Milan but Howe urged fans to remember the bigger picture. “The players did incredibly well to finish fourth last year,” said a manager who arrived in the midst of a relegation battle in November 2021. “It was miles ahead of schedule. What you can’t do is give them a lot of credit for that and then hammer them at the same time because we couldn’t then follow that up. I don’t think it’s a time for criticism of the players. I think it’s a time for support. I understand how the supporters will be feeling but we need to inspire the players against Fulham.” Newcastle’s extensive injury crisis has left Howe with very little room for rotation but he made it clear his aim is to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League again next spring. “We’re determined to get back into the Champions League,” he said. “We’d love to be there agains very soon. We need to make sure we are fully ready for Saturday’s game against a very dangerous Fulham and look at it as an opportunity to achieve. Probably our biggest challenge before Fulham is the psychological aspect of the game, not so much tactical or technical.” On Tuesday Newcastle travel to Chelsea for a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Howe adamant he would field his strongest possible XI and reiterating: “I want to win a trophy.” He was less definite about the future of Lewis Hall, the 19-year-old Chelsea left-back, currently on a year-long loan at St James’ Park, with a view to potentially joining Newcastle in a deal potentially worth £35m next summer. Asked whether that transfer would still be triggered, Howe replied: “I’m not 100% sure. It’s not my decision to make but I think there’s certain criteria he has to meet.” Hall has made only six appearances for Newcastle and been withdrawn at half-time in three of his four starts. “Lewis is a really talented player,” said Howe. “He has huge technical qualities and is a really good attacking full-back but, defensively, there’s things we’re still working on. It might take a bit of time to get that defensive solidity.”