Newcastle United chief executive, David Hopkinson, says the club is not considering a change of manager despite the team’s recent results.
Hopkinson said he does not have a stance on the future of head coach Eddie Howe, adding that Newcastle are “not looking to make a change at the moment”.
Newcastle reached the last 16 of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, but results have declined in recent weeks.
The team lost 7-2 to Barcelona at the Nou Camp before a 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby. The loss left Newcastle 12th in the Premier League, with some supporters booing the team at St James’ Park.
Despite this, the club’s hierarchy has maintained its support for Howe, who guided Newcastle to Champions League qualification in 2023 and 2025 and led them to the EFL Cup title last season.
Hopkinson said the club is “not having those conversations” about a managerial change.
“I don’t have a stance on his future,” he said. “What I can tell you is that the derby loss hurt.
“We take it seriously. There’s nothing within us that thinks, ‘Well, it’s just three points and on we go’. It has resonated.
“I spent a couple of hours in a one-on-one lunch recently with Eddie, and we talked through a multitude of things, including that.
“Eddie is our manager. I expect to have a great run to the end of the season here, and we will talk about the future when it’s time. Right now, we’re focused on this season’s competition.”
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Newcastle have seven matches left this season and are pushing for a European place.
The club is also planning for the next transfer window, with Howe working alongside sporting director Ross Wilson.
There are concerns about the squad, including the long-term future of some players such as Sandro Tonali, who has up to four years left on his contract if a one-year extension is activated.
Last summer, Newcastle sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record £125m after the player went “on strike” to force the move.
Hopkinson described the transfer as a “good sale” but said players under contract will not be allowed to leave on their own terms.
“If an Isak-like scenario presents itself again, any player under contract is going to leave on our terms,” he said.
“We’re going to maximise the opportunity that might represent for the club.”
The chief executive spoke after Newcastle released their financial results for the year ending June 2025.
The club posted a £34.7m profit after tax, supported by the sale of the leasehold to St James’ Park and surrounding land to PZ Holdings Limited, a subsidiary company.
Newcastle said the move was aimed at restructuring assets for future development, not to meet the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
Chief financial officer Simon Capper said “The motivation was very much to reorganise our property assets and get them into the correct legal boxes to allow us to go forward with our potential development and to facilitate that with financing”.
Newcastle reported revenues of £335.3m, which remains below figures posted by rivals.
Liverpool generated £703m in the same period, while Manchester City earned £340.4m in commercial revenue alone.
Hopkinson said the club still has work to do to compete at the top level by 2030.
“When I think about our competitors, they are formidable, and they have already got a head start on us, but all they’ve got is a head start on us and we’ve got a tremendous opportunity for growth right in front of us,” he added.
“We’ve used the phrase ‘headroom’ in terms of a player budget, but what I also look at is the commercial opportunity. We have significant headroom to catch up.
“It means we’ve got to work harder. We’ve got to work smarter with high conviction and energy every single day to capture that headroom. We’ve got to catch these guys.”
With seven matches remaining, Newcastle is four points off seventh place and still in contention for European qualification.
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