‘We CAN survive… but I make no promises’: Eddie Howe sounds a warning to Newcastle at his unveiling after signing up to be boss of the world’s richest club – who could still drop to the Championship
- Eddie Howe has delighted in returning to the Premier League with Newcastle
- The 43-year-old has taken over as Magpies boss following Steve Bruce’s sacking
- Howe is tasked with staving off the threat of relegation for his struggling squad
- He has called on his stars to make the sacrifices necessary to survive the drop
Eddie Howe believes Newcastle can survive the drop, but the new Magpies boss made no promises as he sent his squad a warning on his unveiling at St James’ Park.
Howe, 43, was named Newcastle’s new Head Coach over the weekend following the club’s dismissal of Steve Bruce, was the ex-Bournemouth manager tasked with staving off relegation and leading the club in their exciting new era.
The Magpies wealthy new owners are looking to break into the upper echelons of English and European football, but Howe’s immediate thoughts are with clawing the club out of the drop zone.
Eddie Howe has delighted in returning to the Premier League as manager of Newcastle United
Newcastle are 19th in the Premier League and have failed to register a win from their first 11 top flight games. Howe’s first game in charge will be against Brentford while a difficult December lies in store with matches against Leicester, Liverpool, Man City and Man United on the horizon.
Howe called for his beleaguered squad to make the sacrifices necessary to avoid relegation – in what would be a disastrous result for the new owners – but made no promises as to securing the club’s Premier League status.
‘[I am] absolutely confident that we can [survive], but I make no promises on that. All I can do is lead the club to the best of my abilities,’ he said at his unveiling.
The 43-year-old has taken over at Newcastle following Steve Bruce’s sacking last month (pictured: club director Amanda Staveley, right, and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, left)
Howe is tasked with staving off the threat of relegation with Newcastle struggling this term
The Englishman has called on his stars to make the sacrifices necessary to avoid the drop
‘I will give everything to the job, I will commit 100 per cent every single day to try to bring success to Newcastle for everybody connected with the club.
‘I believe we have the ability within the squad with the players to achieve that aim but it is going to take a lot of hard work, sacrifice and suffering for the players to give everything they have to try and commit to the objective that we need.’
The Englishman has been out of work since leaving the Cherries in 2020 and expressed his delight in returning to management with the Magpies.
‘It feels fantastic to be Head Coach of Newcastle,’ he added. ‘I am absolutely honoured, privileged. It is an incredible moment in my life and judging by the reaction I have had and how the two days of training has gone, it’s been a really positive start.
He made no promises as to securing the club’s top flight status with relegation a real threat (pictured with Staveley, left and Ghodoussi, right)
Newcastle are currently 19th in the Premier League and have yet to win a game
‘So I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and the board for trusting in me this important job.’
Reflecting on his decision to take the hot seat at St James’ Park, Howe said: ‘Everything just felt right, it really did. The pull of the club is huge. The size of the club, the history of the club. Obviously the new ambitious plans , the new owners when meeting them, knowing some of the players, the squad.
‘I just thought it was a perfect fit for me. Yes I have had lots of other options but I wanted to take my time and really utilise my time away from the game. I feel refreshed, energised and ready to start work.’
Howe believes he arrives at Newcastle a better manager than when he suffered relegation with Bournemouth, also insisted that he knows ‘absolutely nothing’ about speculation linking Liverpool’s Michael Edwards with a role at the football club.