It’s over to you – Eddie Howe left Jason Tindall to his own accord during leave

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has revealed he had “zero” involvement with football while he was recovering from pneumonia.

The 47-year-old was hospitalised a fortnight ago and was absent from Newcastle’s last three matches, with assistant Jason Tindall taking charge of the team.

Howe returned to work on Thursday, admitting he was not 100 per cent but delighted to be back, and was ready to prepare the Champions League-chasing Magpies for Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Ipswich at St James’ Park.

When asked about how much involvement he had with football prior to his return, Howe replied: “Zero. I made a conscious decision when I didn’t feel well enough to focus on the football to give Jason and all the coaches the full responsibility.

Eddie Howe on his past few weeks:

"I’m okay, I am not 100% in my body, but 100% in my mind. It's been difficult, I tried to take a positive experience from it, it has been a real challenge, your health you take for granted, I certainly did. Been through a range of emotions, I… pic.twitter.com/G4mgTmQbyG

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) April 25, 2025

“Because for me, you’re either all in or all out and I couldn’t contribute.

“I said to Jason right at the start ‘it’s over to you’ and didn’t he do well? I thought he was absolutely brilliant with all the coaches and the players. I thought they were absolutely magnificent.

“I was able to watch all of the games, the first two I wasn’t really there mentally, but I was really proud and so lifted by the performances. A big thank you to everybody for what they did.”

Having been absent for those trio of fixtures, Howe revealed that as soon as he started to show signs of improvement, he did not waste any time in analysing the Tractor Boys.

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