Support is key quality Howe needs in Wilson

IT WAS over a month ago that Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was asked in a press conference about his working relationship with sporting directors.

- By SEAN MCCORMICK

In a first press conference after the summer transfer window slammed shut, Howe's answer could have got lost but it was perhaps the most telling response he delivered.

When a reporter asked if there was a perception he struggles to work under a sporting director, Howe replied: “I don’t know where that has come from. I’m desperate for a sporting director. The way the modern football club works, I think you need that person with the expertise, the person who's going to lead the club in all sorts of different ways.

“So it's an absolutely pivotal position. I had a very good relationship with Dan Ashworth and a very good relationship with Richard Hughes at Bournemouth for many years.

“We need the position filled, but ideally with the right man, the man who can lead the club forward in many different ways to a very successful era. I'm fully supportive of the position.”

The notable omission of Newcastle’s last sporting director Paul Mitchell wasn’t lost on anyone in the room after speculation the relationship between the pair was strained, although Howe always refuted that publicly.