No managerial change ‘at the moment’ as Newcastle address pressure on Eddie Howe

Chief executive David Hopkinson insists Newcastle have no immediate plans to replace head coach Eddie Howe after a difficult season.

However, he stopped short of guaranteeing Howe will remain at the helm beyond the end of a campaign which has seen the Magpies struggle in the Premier League after reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League and the latter rounds of both the Carabao and FA Cups.

Speaking as the club released their latest financial figures, Hopkinson was asked about Howe’s future amid disquiet from sections of the club’s support in the wake of a bruising European exit in Barcelona and defeat to derby rivals Sunderland.

A post shared by Newcastle United (@nufc)

He said: “Eddie’s our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here and we’ll talk about the future when it’s time.”

Asked to clarify his comments, he added: “We are not looking to make a change at the moment. We are not having those conversations.

“We are still in the midst of the season. Right now, we are focused on the seven matches we have remaining and not distracting ourselves with speculation about what we may or may not do in the summer.”

Newcastle will return to Premier League action sitting 12th in the table, seven points adrift of the fifth place in which they finished last season and knowing a failure to secure European football for the new campaign could have significant impacts on both finances and personnel.

Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Livramento are among those players to have been linked with moves away from St James’ Park, but Hopkinson is adamant there will be no repeat of the saga which saw Alexander Isak go on strike to force through a £130million switch to Liverpool 12 months ago.

He