Eddie Howe has warned Newcastle he must be happy with his working conditions if he wants to stay at the club and reject any overtures from England.
In an extraordinary half-hour with reporters here in Germany, Howe said he must be “free to operate in the way he wants” under a new hierarchy including sporting director Paul Mitchell and performance director James Bunce.
When Howe first responded to questions about his favourite to replace Gareth Southgate, he said he was committed to Newcastle and wanted to stay, but only if he felt supported by those above him and within the right framework.
In a candid speech, the head coach gave a clear message to the club about what he needed to stay at St James’ Park.
It would also have given much food for thought to the Football Association chiefs, who may now prefer to wait and see how the situation at Newcastle develops.
Eddie Howe has warned he must be happy with working conditions at Newcastle to stay
Howe has emerged as one of the firm favourites to succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager
Howe, speaking at the team’s training camp at Adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, was asked directly about England and what he wanted to say about the vacancy and about himself.
“So for me, who is very, very proud to be manager of Newcastle, it’s all about Newcastle,” he said. “It’s not about England. So as long as I’m happy, I feel supported, I feel free to work the way I want to work, I’ve never thought about anything else but Newcastle.
‘I absolutely love the club. I love the fans. I love where I am in my career. There is no better place for me to be. That’s how I feel.’
Chief executive Darren Eales said earlier this week he was confident Howe would still be manager on the opening day of the Premier League season. So, will he be?
“As long as I’m happy in the position I’m in, as long as I feel supported by the football club and free to work in the way I want to, then yes,” Howe said. “For me, that’s always been my main driver – my happiness and my ability to do my job.
The FA is looking for a successor to Southgate after his departure after Euro 2024
Howe said he should be ‘free to operate in the way he wants’ under a new hierarchy that also includes sporting director Paul Mitchell (pictured: Mitchell after arriving in Germany)
“I definitely want to stay, but it has to be right for me and the football club. There is absolutely no point in saying I am happy to stay at Newcastle if the dynamic is not right. I certainly do Newcastle no good if I do that.
‘As a new team coming together (off the pitch) we need to set our boundaries. We need to see if we can work together in a really fluid, dynamic way for the benefit of Newcastle.’
Does he feel supported and free to work as he wants?
“There has been a lot of change at the football club this summer,” he said. “It has been a very difficult summer for everyone involved in the club. With change always comes a new feeling.
‘You can point to PSR, Amanda (Staveley) and Mehrdad (Ghodoussi) leaving, a change in sporting director which of course affects me. These are all big changes.
Howe admitted the summer was a summer of ‘change’ and believes the staff needs to ‘come together’
“I don’t think I have the right to challenge or want to challenge those decisions. The club has to choose its direction and that ability is their right.
“I don’t have a problem with that. But of course I have to be happy with my work. I have to feel that this is something that benefits me and the football club, otherwise it won’t work. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say.
“It’s not about me as a manager. I’m a bit irrelevant. It’s about Newcastle United being as strong as we can be for next season and beyond. We’ve all got to come together and make sure we’re the force we want to be.”
He added: ‘I’ve been very happy for two and a half years. I’ve enjoyed every second of the relationships I’ve had and the way I’ve been able to work. I think that’s what’s brought success.
‘We are in a state of flux, it has just happened. I can’t say definitively where it will lead. I hope it leads to everything I have just said. It could easily do that, but it has to be for Newcastle, not so much for me. The club is always the most important thing.’
Howe revealed he was ‘devastated’ that England lost the 2024 Euro final to Spain last weekend
On the prospect of one day leading England, Howe said: ‘I think England is a very special job for someone. I’m very patriotic and I’m not ashamed to say that. I love my country. I want my country to do well.
‘I was disappointed for Gareth and the lads that they didn’t win the Euros. But I don’t have that burning feeling that I feel like I have to do it at some point. I’ve said before, if it happens at some point in the future, it has to be for me. And if it doesn’t, then I’m very, very happy with the role I’m in now, the day-to-day management.’
Mitchell has been brought in with a greater focus on recruitment compared to previous sporting director Dan Ashworth. Howe, it is said, has had the final say on players coming and going in recent seasons. Will that still be the case?
“I think these are things we are working on,” he said. “At no football club can it be one man’s decision and I wouldn’t expect it to be. I think cooperation at every level is essential. There has to be unity around every decision because it’s so big now. That cooperation is important to me.”
He added: ‘The transfer window is absolutely massive. That’s not a criticism of anyone who has come in. I want to make that absolutely clear.
Howe is keen to see out the term of his long-term contract and stressed he is ‘all in’
‘Paul Mitchell has an excellent track record as a sporting director, he is dynamic, he is very strong, I think he is exactly the type of person Newcastle need to take the club forward. I have absolutely no problems with anyone personally, but of course we will move forward together, we need to be able to work together in important relationships for the club.’
Eales revealed this week that Howe signed a new long-term contract last summer. Will he live up to the length of that contract?
“Yes, absolutely, that was my intention and why I signed in the first place,” he said. “I think I’ve shown my commitment to Newcastle since the day I got here and that’s never changed.
“I don’t think my emotional investment could have been greater. I’m going all in or all in and that’s my way of working. I’m going all in and I’ve been working all summer to make the squad better.”