Eddie Howe hopes his cultural reboot of Newcastle will reap rewards at Spurs

Newcastle will arrive at Tottenham on Sunday afternoon bolstered by not merely a recent warm-weather training camp in Dubai but a cultural reboot overseen by Eddie Howe.

Since Howe succeeded Steve Bruce in November there have been a series of changes on and off the pitch, with one of the most important innovations involving fortnightly “timelines” sessions.

These involve Howe and his squad gathering to hear a single player’s life story and then asking that individual questions about his background, beliefs, family and interests. “We really like to find out about players’ personal lives and their history,” said Howe.

“There’s a lot I might think I know about a person but then, when they start to talk about themselves and their childhood and certain things that might have happened in their lives, you tend to take a totally different view.

“These are things you wouldn’t normally find out in a normal conversation so I think it’s very healthy, not just for me but the rest of the squad. It can start not just new conversations but new relationships. It makes you have conversations that wouldn’t normally happen.

“We’ve had some really interesting talks and you find out a lot more about a player’s character. I won’t go into details because I don’t think it’s right but it’s a very healthy thing for everyone to do.”

Howe is a big believer that human connectivity within football clubs is about far more than just what happens on the pitch. “The culture of any organisation determines its success,” he said. “It’s all about how people interact with each other and you can stimulate that with little things to get them talking and mixing in different groups. Everything we do is about making a better working environment and stimulating