Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell have held talks in a fresh sign of their willingness to work together and move on from a summer of frustration at Newcastle United.
The relationship between the head coach and director of football has been under intense scrutiny after a summer transfer window when the club failed to sign top target Marc Guehi.
Howe admitted he hadn’t spoken to Mitchell after the latter gave a wide-ranging interview during the September international break in which he criticised aspects of the club’s recruitment.
Howe chose his words carefully when asked about whether they had communicated since on Friday but i understands the pair have now held constructive dialogue since and there is now confidence behind the scenes that any differences have been ironed out and the club can “move forward”.
A weekend report claiming Mitchell would leave Newcastle before Howe if a so-called “power struggle” continued has been dismissed and majority owners the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) want the pair to work together as part of the new management structure.
Howe said that he believed the club was unified – citing the relationship between himself, the players and the supporters as strong – but Mitchell’s planned tweak of the recruitment remit and outlook is also understood to have his backing. Their communication is a positive development.
Mitchell has held regular meetings with women’s manager Becky Langley and academy director Steve Harper and has also held a series of summits with the scouting department. Langley has been handed a new contract to reflect back-to-back promotions for the women’s team.
But his job is, in the words of chief executive Darren Eales, “90 per cent recruitment”, and that seems to be where the majority of his focus will be trained.
Mitchell wants to widen the scope of their scouting network and introduce more data into their processes – both things that have the support of PIF. Getting both right in time for a potentially important January window is crucial with Newcastle fans needing to see proof that his ideas can work in practice.
On the pitch the Magpies face a critical seven days when they welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park before a rearranged Carabao Cup tie against Wimbledon which gives them an opportunity to progress in a competition they are targeting this season.
Newcastle’s start to the season has been encouraging in terms of points but Howe has admitted that performances have not been at the level he wants.
A disappointing 3-1 defeat to Fulham on Saturday was followed by an apology from Bruno Guimaraes for his own performance, while the form of other key men has been below expectations.
Alexander Isak has just a single goal this season while Joelinton, after a fantastic man of the match display against Southampton on the opening day, has also been under-par.
But there is no sense of panic at St James’ Park, where the stated aim this campaign is to qualify for Europe next season. Instead there is confidence in Howe and his coaching team’s ability to hit the heights when it matters.
