Exclusive: Eddie Howe has made it clear he won't walk away from Newcastle United
Eddie Howe has made it crystal clear he has no interest in managing anybody but Newcastle United despite ongoing talk about his future.
With the England conversation now closed - after Thomas Tuchel committed himself to the Three Lions until 2028 - speculation linked Howe with the Tottenham Hotspur job, with Igor Tudor only in charge until the end of the season. Man United are also undecided on whether Michael Carrick stays on beyond May and Howe is believed to be on the Red Devils' radar.
But Howe explained to ChronicleLive exclusively from Baku that he sees Newcastle as a 'long-term and exciting project', and reiterated his feelings haven't changed since he told me back in October that he was 'all in' at the club.
"I'm still in it for the long haul," he said. "All of those things haven’t changed for me.
"There’s got to be a good feeling, there’s got to be the team moving forward, there’s got to be the players playing for us and showing that every week.
"They’re always the most important people, the players, and how they feel and how they play. Me, personally, I’m really happy as long as the team’s playing well."
ChronicleLive also caught up with supporters in Baku on the eve of the game with many of them backing Howe despite online critics making plenty of noise in light of recent defeats.
One fan, Gary from North Tyneside, said: "It winds me up when I see people having a go at Eddie, for what he has achieved at this club.
"He should be looked at as Kevin Keegan was. For me, he will always be an iconic figure, and I don't say this lightly, but he's up there with Keegan and Peter Beardsley in terms of black and white icons."
When those comments were relayed to Howe during a chat in a dimly lit corridor at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, he was overwhelmed by the backing.
Howe said: "It means everything that. Without the supporters, you are nothing, in terms of their support and goodwill.
"I have always felt that on match days, I have never had a problem with the match day experience, of course we have played badly and people have quite rightly let us know that. In terms of the general support and feeling, I have always felt that Newcastle supporters are fully behind us."
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Newcastle United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest NUFC news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.