Chris Waugh has been speaking on Pod on the Tyne about Eddie Howe’s future as Newcastle United manager if results turned sour.
While at the moment it appears that sacking or getting rid of Howe would be the last thing on PIF’s mind considering they’ve just handed him a long-term contract and is still unbeaten at home this season.
However, some pundits and people within the media, including Gary Neville, have suggested that Howe won’t be the man to take Newcastle to where they want to be and even touted Mauricio Pochettino as a possible candidate, or perhaps Thomas Tuchel.
Waugh himself has been speaking about the out-of-work Argentine manager and how PIF may look towards him if results go bad for Howe.
(23:00) “It’s going to be a huge leap to take Newcastle to where the owners say they want to take them but Howe certainly believes in himself, he has had buy-in from the players he’s got so far, he is developing the team and so I think that in theory, yes, I don’t see why he can’t take Newcastle forward.
Are you happy with Howe as NUFC manager?
Yes!
No!
“It’s by no means certain and obviously, at the moment, the owners haven’t been trigger-happy in any way, shape, or form and don’t suggest that they will be, but if results over the next few months were to take a downturn who knows whether suddenly the likes of Mauricio Pochettino or someone like that may come back into the equation.”
TIF Thoughts on Howe’s future…
Considering the turnaround that Howe has overseen at Newcastle, they were in the bottom three and winless when he took over, to now being one of the in-form teams in the Premier League during 2022, PIF are very unlikely to sack him anytime soon.
However, it is a results business and with high-profile managers such as Tuchel and Pochettino waiting in the wings for their next opportunity within football, they may well get twitchy if Howe can’t pick up results.
While the Magpies have taken a point off of Manchester City and came close to doing the same against Liverpool, they have won just one league game all season which was on the opening day against newly-promoted Nottingham Forest, and that won’t be able to continue for much longer.