Newcastle on verge of Premier League history with survival virtually assured

Newcastle are set to become the first club in Premier League history to stay up after winning none of their first 14 games.

While their survival is not yet mathematically assured, their 43 points is more than any relegated team in a 38-game Premier League season and head coach Eddie Howe, who inherited a side on just five points from 11 games and as many adrift of safety, will be gearing up for another top-flight campaign.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the former Bournemouth manager and his players dug their way out of deep trouble.

Newcastle had to wait until December 4 for their first win of the campaign at the 15th attempt, the fourth of Howe’s tenure, as Callum Wilson’s goal secured a 1-0 victory over Burnley. Their 19 games since have yielded 10 more wins and 33 points to see them into the top half of the table.

The last team to go even 10 games without a first win and stay up was Newcastle themselves under Rafael Benitez in 2018-19, while they will surpass Derby’s 13-game winless start in 2000-01 as the longest for a team who survived. Howe’s side also had just seven points after 14 games – all 10 previous Premier League teams with seven or fewer at that stage were relegated, though teams with eight have survived, most recently the Magpies’ rivals Sunderland in 2013-14.

After more than 14 years of Mike Ashley’s toxic relationship with large sections of the club’s support, any new owner would have been welcomed with open arms, let alone one boasting eye-watering wealth.

Uncomfortable questions over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record remain, but Amanda Staveley’s consortium has swept away much of the misery, re-engaged with an energised fanbase and backed its new head coach with the spending power he