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Showing Howe it is done
Eddie Howe insists Newcastle will spend wisely after sealing their return to the Champions League.
The Magpies will compete in Europe’s elite competition next season after a 0-0 draw with Leicester sealed their top-four spot with one game to play.
Given the riches the Saudi-owned Toon have at their disposal, many have tipped a number of superstars to head to St James’ Park over the summer.
But boss Howe has suggested they will take a more measured approach to their recruitment — much like they did to get themselves into this position.
The 45-year-old told Sky Sports: “There is a very small pool of players to look at. We have to recruit wisely, as we have done in every transfer window to date. This will be our toughest one.
“We’ll think about next season during the summer. We don’t want to go far away from what we’ve done. We are realistic to know there will be more games and that’s a challenge.
“Whenever you achieve something you’re not just happy to participate. You want to succeed and want success.
“I want success massively for this football club. We’ll enjoy tonight, but we want to bring silverware here if we can in the future.”
Pundit Gary Neville had similar views, commenting: “There is a humility about what they have done. They need to stick to these principles.
“There is a challenge about how they move forward. We have seen the likes of Neymar linked in recent months but that would scare the living daylights out of Eddie Howe.”
Smith hails clean sheet
Dean Smith believes Leicester’s first Premier League clean sheet since November will hand his players a psychological boost ahead of a nail-biting final day of the season.
Monday’s 0-0 draw at St James’ Park means survival is out of the Foxes’ hands, as they remain two points adrift of 17th-placed Everton.
The East Midlands outfit were dominated for large parts of the clash but could have won the game at the death with their only shot of the game from Timothy Castagne in stoppage time.
Having held on for their first shut-out in 21 league games, interim boss Smith believes it could be an important point on the road.
He said: “We hadn’t kept a clean sheet. That’s a big thing mentally for the players.
“It is the first clean sheet at half-time that we have had in my first seven games, so it was important that we did that.
“You can’t open up here at St James’ Park and go at them with the momentum they have.
“So, yes, it was a tough watch at times, but you can see that the players were fighting for it, and we had a great chance at the death.”
The Foxes will need to beat West Ham at home on the final day and hope Everton lose or draw against Bournemouth to avoid relegation to the Championship.
Salford chairman to step down
Salford chairman Karen Baird will step down after 10 years in the role.
Baird has overseen Salford’s rise from non-league to the EFL since the takeover in 2014 by Gary Neville and the rest of the Class of ’92, all while running her own business.
A statement from the Class of ’92 said: “Karen has been an inspiring figure at the club for many years and an outstanding leader both on the football and business side, and we really could not have done it without her.
“She worked committedly for the club and in the early years much of that was voluntary, highlighting just how much the club meant to her.
“We would all like to thank her for her dedication and wish her all the best in everything she chooses to do.”
