ASH TOONS IN WITH THANKS

MIKE ASHLEY Zoomed into the Newcastle dressing room for an end-of-season pep talk – and is set to meet boss Steve Bruce to plan for next season.

With a Saudi-led takeover stalled, Sports Direct tycoon Ashley appeared by video link to offer the players a “thank you” message for finishing 13th, and for their “hard work” during a difficult campaign. Bruce (below) revealed: “I also have a call in to Mike on Wednesday. It’s important to tell everyone - he wanted to say well done to the staff and players for their hard work. It was good to hear from him. That was basically it.” On the takeover, he added: “We need clarity. You have to go to town on the Premier League. How long do you want? The club needs that clarity. Let’s hope we can do that in the next few days, or week.

“I’m sure there’s a desire to take the club forward. If that’s not going to happen we need to know so we can be business as usual.” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed his relentless champions as “exceptional, and nearly perfect” after they ended the season with a 3-1 win at Toon. The eclipsed last season’s points total by reaching 99, and Klopp admitted they needed to come close to perfection to dethrone Manchester City.

He said: “The football part of the year was exceptional. European Super Cup, Club World Cup, Premier League, 99 points after 97 last season. We were unlucky a bit last year with 97, but it was clear to win against Man City you need to be nearly perfect, and the boys were.”