Howe educating himself on Saudi regime before commenting

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he does not feel qualified to answer questions over the club's Saudi owners amid football's ongoing geo-political debate.

The Magpies' head coach was criticised for side-stepping the issue in his post-match press conference at Chelsea on Sunday, particularly when his counterpart Thomas Tuchel offered his thoughts club ownership at the weekend.

Asked if he had anything to add at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday morning, he said: "It's a difficult one for everyone concerned. I understand the questions have to be asked, I've got no problem with that.

"From my perspective - and I've always maintained this - my specialist subject is football. It's what I know, it's what I've trained to do."

Howe added: "As soon as I deviate from that into an area where I don't feel qualified to have a huge opinion, I think I go into dangerous ground, so I prefer to stick to what I believe I know.

"I'm hugely proud to represent this football club and the supporters and the city and I'm trying to create a team the city can be proud of, and all my energy is going into that and will continue to."

However, the 44-year-old revealed he is reading up about the situation in order to become better acquainted with the details.

He said: "Obviously part of my job now in the modern football management scene is to know what's going on around the world, and I will have to do that.

"But football will have to be and will always be my passion and it will always be the main crux of my job, and I think that's where my time needs to be spent."