Eddie Howe’s stance on becoming Man Utd manager in Newcastle statement | Football | Sport

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has emphatically declared his commitment to St James’ Park following renewed speculation linking him with the Manchester United vacancy. Howe emerged as a potential candidate following Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, but the Red Devils would face a substantial eight-figure compensation package to prise him away from Tyneside, according to Chronicle Live.

However, Howe has categorically stated he has no intention of abandoning Newcastle, regardless of any reported interest from Old Trafford. Addressing the United speculation at his press conference, Howe said: “Yes, absolutely. Nothing has changed from my perspective. I’m 100 per cent here, working as hard as I can, head down, ignoring all the stuff that you guys write, good or bad, because it’s irrelevant.

“It’s about today’s work and trying to prepare the team as well as we can for Leeds, so that will never change from my perspective, my commitment to my work and my job.

“As long as I’m happy and able to express myself in the best way that I can to help the team, nothing will change.”

When pressed on whether anything could entice him away from the Magpies, Howe responded: “No, not at this current time. The most important thing for me is happiness in the role, happiness in the job. The relationships I have with the people around me.

“Now, that’s not always been consistently good and things can change at any football club. But, at the moment, I am very happy. We have made some great appointments in the roles we needed to fill and as long as I can express myself in the best way possible, the best version of myself to help the players and the club (I’ll stay).

“Because ultimately, for any club to be successful, there has to be unity from top to bottom and a good feeling between everybody. I’ve had an unbelievable relationship with the board here since I’ve come to the football club and that’s never changed.

“I consider myself very lucky to have that because there are very few managers that have the time to build those relationships and to have the confidence and trust within each other. I think that is really important and if you have all those things, you have a higher chance of being successful.

“There is no guarantee, but you have a higher chance if those relationships are working. I’m very happy and I hope that continues for a long time.”

However, Howe also delved deeper into the reality of long-term planning in modern football, particularly following the recent departures of Enzo Maresca and Amorim, which have sent shockwaves through the Premier League this winter.

With a wry smile, Howe reflected: “I laugh because longevity is such a strange one because you don’t set out to have a timeline, you set out to win games. It’s always the next game, then the next. You are working week to week and game to game.

“Of course you have to have a longer-term vision and you have to plan well. You have to see what your team looks like in the future.

“You have to have good relationships around you. You have to have good relationships with the players. You have to have a mixture of all those things. That has led me to this point now and at my previous job.

“I don’t know whether longevity is going out of the game in the role that I am in; somebody might tell me some stats that contradict that.

“It feels more difficult to stay in one place for a long time because I think attention spans and appetites for seeing the same person all the time, is less attractive these days.”

The press conference then circled back to Howe’s comments from summer 2024, when Paul Mitchell succeeded Dan Ashworth and the subject of “boundaries” came up. Howe was questioned whether he could envisage another four years at the helm.

Howe chuckled: “Four more games (laughs)! I don’t tend to do that.

“I didn’t do that from the minute I came in, really. When coming to the football club I hoped for a sustained opportunity to do the job and prove myself and to do the job I thought I could do, but the first task was to stay in the league and we knew that if we didn’t achieve that then there wouldn’t be a part two and that’s sort of how it works.

“You’ve got to keep hitting your objectives, you’ve got to keep hitting your targets, stage by stage. If you’re able to and enjoying it and people want you to stay then you stay and you enjoy what’s to come.

“Four more years? I don’t know. Let’s just try and navigate through this season first.”