Eddie Howe updates Alexander Isak and Newcastle stars after meeting with Saudi owners

Eddie Howe has insisted he has renewed backing from Newcastle's Saudi Arabia owners.

Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is also the governor of the Saudi state's Public Investment Fund, travelled to Tyneside for Sunday's 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest. He then held a series of high-level meetings with club executives.

The visit is seen as part of a renewed push from PIF as Profit and Sustainability pressures ease ahead of the summer. Newcastle have failed to make a significant signing for three successive transfer windows.

That has led to difficulties on the pitch, with the Magpies missing out on qualification for European football last season. They are well placed for a return to the Champions League this term though, with Howe finding a renewed sense of purpose in his discussions with Al-Rumayyan.

“I’ve had various conversations with him,” Howe said on Tuesday. “I think a lot’s been discussed at those board meetings, probably not for public consumption. I wasn’t in all of them, but I’m sure (there will be) some positive outcomes and the club will be moving forward.

“I always take heart from seeing him and talking with him because you see his passion for Newcastle and you see how much he directly cares about everything that’s going on here. They were good conversations.

"He was in good spirits and enjoyed seeing us win. I can’t really say anything, but I was very pleased because the ambition, the drive to be successful is still very much there from everyone connected with the club.”

Howe's comments are a clear sign to the likes of Alexander Isak that the Magpies are not content with standing still. Instead, the boss has made it clear that competing with the sides at the top of the table is the aim.

“If we’re going to catch the teams above us, we’re going to need to drastically improve everything that we’re delivering still,” Howe added. “And that goes right across the board in every department of the football club, because we have so much to do to get to the top.

“It’s not going to happen just by thinking it. It’s not going to happen by willing it. We have to actually deliver it. And that takes money, that takes investment, that takes smart thinking, strategic thinking, which I know is going on at the club, but then we need to implement it all.

“I think just purely in terms of investment and taking the team forward of course we’ve taken a bit of a hit. We understand that and I acknowledge that but it’s through no one’s fault and we have to live in the world of the reality.

"We know that we want to take the team forward again, we’re desperate to do that, we have ideas to do it and hopefully we can make that happen in the future. It may take a bit of time because these clubs that we’re talking about are way ahead of us in terms of their income but that’s all part of the club’s growth.”

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