He said: "When we arrived at the football club, the team were where they were and since we've been here, we've just tried to implement our philosophy on the group of players as quickly and the best we can. It was never going to be such a quick fix to do that. "A game that he used to find so easy, he's finding very difficult at the moment. I feel sorry for Glen. He was on the crest of a wave. He came over, he earned his tour card, he came over with a bang and won the Premier League. And he hasn't been the same since. I don't know how he's going to address that." Declan Rice withdrew from the England squad last week because of illness and he looked well short of his best here following the praise heaped upon him by Glenn Hoddle as "the best player in the Premier League". However, Howe, who was unable to be in the dugout at St James' Park for his first game in charge after testing positive for Covid-19, would have also been given a glimpse of the huge task he faces at the club.