Eddie Howe convinced Newcastle can reel in Man United

Eddie Howe is confident Newcastle can buck the trend as they attempt to challenge Manchester United on and off the pitch.

The sides meet at St James' Park in the Premier League on Sunday, little more than a month after the men from Old Trafford got the better of the Magpies in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, the Tyneside outfit's first major final in 24 years.

Head coach Howe and his players have gone much of the way towards closing the gap between the clubs in football terms with the help of sizeable investment from their Saudi-backed owners, but with United's forecast turnover for 2022-23 approaching £600million, around three times the figure for Newcastle, a major financial challenge remains.

Asked about that disparity, the former Bournemouth manager said: "I think you can buck the trend, of course you can, it's possible. It's not easy to do.

"I go back to my early coaching experiences and we were always trying to buck the trend. We were going against teams with far superior budgets to us for years and years.

"When you say how: team spirit, togetherness, implementing a plan, hopefully everyone's on the same page and working harder than everyone else. That's the simple blueprint that I've always tried to use.

"When you get to the elite level, as we are, it gets harder and harder. But believe in the squad we have and we'll give everything to try to do that."

Asked how quickly the Magpies could start to compete with the Red Devils off the pitch, Howe added: "You're probably asking the wrong man.

"But there are ambitions for the club to grow the income. It's vital that we do with Financial Fair Play because we're going to be restricted depending on our income, so I know that's the challenge that everyone at the club is trying