Newcastle

'My focus is football': Eddie Howe refuses to discuss Newcastle's Saudi-backed owners – video

10-Nov-2021 17:52:30 | The Guardian

The Newcastle manager, Eddie Howe, refused to be drawn on the human rights record of his new club's owners, saying in his first press conference that his focus is only on football. 

'That's all I'm going to talk about and that's all I'm going to think about,' he said. 

The club were previously owned by Mike Ashley but were sold for £305m last month in a takeover backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Newcastle's wealthy new owners are looking to challenge the top four in the English Premier League but Howe's immediate thoughts are with clawing the club out of the drop zone. '[The] task ahead is huge. It's a very, very difficult challenge. I'm under no illusions.'