Former England man Teddy Sheringham has backed Eddie Howe
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe during the 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe during the 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen(Image: 2025 DeFodi Images)
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David Hopkinson caused a real stir last week when Newcastle United's accounts were released.
The Magpies were reporting record revenues, as well as revealing that they had actually sold the leasehold on St James' Park to themselves, but those two things didn't even grab the main headlines - as huge as they were.
Instead, Hopkinson's comments about Eddie Howe's future - no real assurances - were the most eye-catching from a media briefing with the North East journalists.
When asked about Howe's future, Hopkinson said: "I don't have a stance on his future. What I can tell you is that the derby loss hurt. We take it seriously. There's nothing within us that thinks 'well, it's just three points and on we go'. It has resonated.
"I spent a couple of hours in a one-on-one lunch recently with Eddie, and we talked through a multitude of things, including that.
"Eddie's our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here, and we'll talk about the future when it's time. Right now, we're focused on this season's competition."
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It was hardly a ringing endorsement of Howe's position, no matter how anyone tried to paint it. Whereas Hopkinson has previously been very firm in his stance about the United manager, his lack of a real assurances meant his response seemed very open-ended.
It created more speculation about the head coach, who guided Newcastle to their first domestic trophy in 70 years last season, and has qualified for the Champions League twice in three seasons. It's been an incredible achievement by Howe and means he still retains a lot of support among the fanbase despite some disgruntled social media posters.
Former England and Tottenham Hotspur striker Teddy Sheringham has now weighed in on the situation, and believes it would be a 'massive risk' if Newcastle's owners PIF were to decide to move on from Howe this summer.
"I really like Eddie; I wouldn't sack him. I think he’s building something there," Sheringham told BestBettingSites. "Winning something recently for the club for the first time in about a million years was brilliant.
"He has the respect and the support of the majority of the supporters. There’s always going to be unrest and you can’t please everybody, but I think the majority are still with him and he deserves to carry on.
"It would be a massive risk for the club hierarchy to make that kind of call in the summer. He’s got a lot of affection in that part of the world for winning that Carabao Cup. It would be a huge gamble."
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