We will reward fans with entertainment
EDDIE Howe has vowed to turn Newcastle United into entertainers again as huge numbers of fans have already renewed their season tickets.
The Magpies will play their final home game of the season on Monday night when they host Arsenal at a sold-out St James’ Park.
And it appears that many who will be there for that match will be back next season with thousands securing their seats again long before the club’s May 19 deadline.
Former Bournemouth boss Howe has been delighted by the number of season ticket renewals and with many more fans returning to St James’ Park after walking away during the Mike Ashley era, he now wants to keep the feel-good factor going
“It is a great sign, a great sign for us,” the 44-year-old told The Journal. “There is that demand and willingness to support the team.
“I hope that we can give them some very entertaining football to watch. We want to keep that passion and support where it is right now, because it has been a huge force for us. We have loved playing in front of it and having it as a force behind us. Together we are a formidable team. Long may that continue.” United’s home form this year has been crucial as they have transformed themselves from potential relegation candidates to a side battling to finish in the top half.
Only quadruple-chasing Liverpool have left Tyneside with all three Premier League points since the turn of the year, with Newcastle reeling off six wins in a row on home turf before that.
Howe, who took charge in November, wants to keep that up next season and create a hostile environment for opponents.
He said: “If we can build our home ground into a fortress, a place in which teams don’t want to come that is a massive thing. There’s certainly a powerful thing at St James’ Park at the moment.
“There’s just a feeling – and even I get it – coming into the stadium, even when it’s empty, it is a great feeling.
“You are coming into St James’ Park and thinking: ‘Today’s going to be special’. The supporters have created that for us.
“Now, going back to our last game, I was a little bit disappointed with the intensity we delivered.
“We have set our standards so high, we can’t drop it, for any game, home or away - it’s the least supporters deserve.”
Howe has also revealed that he is unlikely to field £45m strike duo Callum Wilson and Chris Wood alongside each other next season.
The Newcastle head coach has operated with a 4-3-3 formation for much of his tenure so far but does not believe the club will go down the path of a central pairing.
Playing a front two has served the club well in the past with superb partnerships such as Malcom Macdonald and John Tudor, Andy Cole and Peter Beardsley, and Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand all devastating opposition defences down the decades.
But in an era where the majority of coaches play with a solitary striker, Howe does not sound like he is about to give England forward Wilson and New Zealand record-breaker Wood a run in the team together.
“We’re playing in a different way to that – not with two strikers,” he said.
“I’m not saying it would be impossible, but I think it would maybe be difficult for us to incorporate both into the same team, and still produce a team that is strong enough off the ball to withstand that.”
He added: “I think a lot of the problems with two strikers, and why I wouldn’t say gone out of the game, but probably going out of the game, is because off the ball, you have big spaces.
“Your midfield and back four find themselves with huge spaces to defend. It’s not something I’d say that I’d never do, but it’s certainly not something that’s in my immediate plans to play that way.”