'A lonely place', Amanda Staveley talks of Newcastle United's state after Saudi-backed takeover

Amanda Staveley has praised both head of recruitment Steve Nickson and Eddie Howe for their work in the January transfer window. The duo stepped in as makeshift recruitment duo in the absence of no director of football or managing director.

After a £91million spend, Newcastle now look on course for survival and the club's new owners are delighted with their business so far. Speaking about the club's work off the field so far, Staveley said at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: "We took over the club, we were in position 20, we had no manager. "Mehrdad and I and our PIF colleagues went up to the club and it was a lonely place.

"Fortunately, we have an amazing head of recruitment in Steve Nickson, who has been with the club for a long time and has a really deep knowledge of the player markets. "So we were able to quickly put together a transfer committee.

"Our number one priority was to not get relegated and that means sometimes, you have to buy players who can come in quickly, like Kieran (Trippier), who are fit and ready for the challenge of the Premier League. Europe is not the same as the Premier League. It needs players who are ready."

"Eddie came along. We looked at a huge range of managers. He was very clear in what he wanted and it has proved to be absolutely right. He is very particular as a coach - he wants 120% all the time. With PIF we worked, my husband established relationships with agents and I suppose we will only see how well we did at the end of the season."

Looking ahead Staveley also says Newcastle must shop carefully and keep an eye on the wage bill. The Ripon financier added: "We called it internally - there was a premium with some players. "We walked away from a lot of deals that we