Eddie Howe addresses Callum Wilson ‘worry’ amid Newcastle United goal drought

Eddie Howe has addressed concerns surrounding Callum Wilson’s recent performances for Newcastle United.

The Magpies No.9 drew another blank during the goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday as his goal drought extended to eight matches.

Wilson last found the net in October when he scored a brace against Aston Villa, but it isn’t just the lack of goals that has worried the Newcastle fanbase.

Many feel the 30-year-old has lacked a little match sharpness since returning from the Qatar World Cup - but Howe believes there is a good reason for that.

Wilson suffered from illness over the Christmas period, which has resulted in limited training time.

But Howe isn’t worried, and has backed the England striker to get back to his goalscoring best.

“Knowing Callum, no,” Howe said when asked if he was worried about Wilson’s form. “He’s had very limited training time. He had an illness (after the World Cup).

“With Callum, he’s missed big chunks of training, and I think that always affects your sharpness as a player, regardless of position.

“Callum’s worked really hard for the team, and knowing him as I do the goals are just around the corner.”

It isn’t just Wilson struggling for goals of late. The 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park was the third time in four games Newcastle have failed to score.

“I don’t think it’s the balance in the team, or the balance of how we’ve approached this run of games,” Howe said. “We’ve been attacking, you could see that today.

“We’re pushing bodies forward all the time and trying to play football. We’re trying to take the game to the opposition – the lack of goals isn’t in our preparation or in our intent.

“But it’s difficult to score against well-organised Premier League defences, and Crystal Palace are a very good team.”

Howe added: “Whenever you’re not scoring, it’s a concern. We’re maybe not scoring in the numbers that we’d want to, but I don’t think there’s any concern about our style of play or how we’re trying to approach the games.

“I just think teams are giving us a lot of respect and putting a lot of men behind the ball.”