The United boss admits the new season will feel very different from Newcastle’s fresh and unexpected rise to the top four last term. Expectations have risen. Newcastle are seen as contenders again. Saudi chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has gone public to say he wants the club to “be No1.”
This summer Howe has had down time in Greece – with his wife and kids at a football academy naturally. They went to Iceland, learning about “igneous and metamorphic rocks” for his eldest son’s school tests, and also, never away from the job, taking in an international when keeper Martin Dubravka was playing. Plus a campervan trip in Northumberland, to Alnwick.
That gave Howe the headspace to reflect on how to deal with the burgeoning global interest in his club – rich from Saudi investment, £340m spent on transfers, and a Champions League campaign ahead. Howe has revealed the “internal stress” that drives him, the fears that spur his work-ethic, and what makes his days enjoyable.
There’s a clear message for Newcastle fans and players as to how they will deal with the new challenges of mixing it with the elite. Howe’s key take away from his summer thinking was: Don’t believe the hype. Pressure is only a thing created by other people, not ourselves. We have to remain very humble and committed to success.
“We have it all to prove. We haven’t arrived. Work with the same intensity, we’ll be fine.”
Howe says the holiday’s flashed by. He’s chatting at a Premier League pitch opening in New Jersey, USA, on an 11 day, three game, three city, 90F tour. “Noisier” than last year’s camp in the Austrian lakes and mountains.
In Greece he watched the kids play football, played tennis, mobile phone close by helping get the £54m signing of Milan’s Sandro Tonali over the line. “A huge player for us and a huge transfer, but that was really tough to do.
“Iceland. It was slightly different and out of the normal scene. It is a volcanic island. Geysers, picturesque and beautiful.”
About The Author
Leave a Reply