Chris Waugh has been speaking on the latest edition of David Ornstein’s show Ask Ornstein on YouTube about all things relating to Newcastle United.
One of the topics that The Athletic reporter discussed was how well the club are prepared for relegation should they go down this season.
This comes after claims from The Times that the Toon do not have relegation clauses inserted in the players’ contracts, which means that they could be in financial trouble if they are demoted.
However, it seems as if the Toon are not prepared for relegation and wouldn’t know what to do if it happens again.
He said: “I think the real concern for supporters and the real concern that there is around the club is that I don’t think that they really have [prepared].
“As far as my understanding is, as far as I’m aware, the club may contest; I don’t think there has been an acceptance that this could have been an eventuality.
“So I don’t think yet they know what will actually happen if Newcastle go down.”
Do you think Newcastle are prepared for relegation?
No, not a chance
Yes, we have to be this time
TIF Thoughts on Waugh’s claims…
This is very concerning as it seems to suggest that the Toon thought they had no chance of being relegated.
That might have been true if Rafael Benitez had stayed at the club because of his incredible Premier League record.
However, appointing a manager like Steve Bruce, who has been relegated from the Premier League twice as a manager, surely means that there was a possibility that they could go down and they should have recognised that?
It seems even now, with the Toon just one point above the relegation zone and having won just two league games in 16; they still don’t really know how much danger they are in, with the club set to stick by Bruce.
So, it doesn’t surprise us to hear that the club have not prepared for relegation.