Isak was a doubt heading into the match after missing training through the week with a toe issue. But the 25-year-old was passed fit to start and played the full 90 minutes at Craven Cottage as Newcastle suffered their first defeat of the new season.
The Swede failed to register a shot on target in the match as he has now scored just one goal in six appearances for The Magpies so far this season. And the Newcastle boss has admitted the striker isn’t having the desired impact this season.
“He was fully fit, he was happy to play,” Howe said. “He trained [Friday] and there were no issues.
“He’s not as involved as we want him to be, he’s not having the impact in the games we want him to have and what he is capable of doing so hence the tactical reshuffle at half-time.
“We tried to get players nearer to him. It’s one for me to think about.”
The defeat at Craven Cottage saw some of Newcastle’s ‘big name’ players such as Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes subject to criticism for their performances.
“I think everybody does,” Howe said when asked about which players come into focus after the loss. “From my perspective, you analyse everyone fairly and independently.
“We have big-name stars in the group but everyone is contributing the same effort. You need your players to play well and everybody does to win games but that wasn’t the case, especially in the first half.
“[Saturday] was the worst we’ve played, especially in the first half – second half was much better.
“In the other games we haven’t been perfect but there was real solidity throughout the performance. Today defensively was not good enough and we’ll take that on the chin, we know that and we’ll go and do the work to try and put it right.”
