What Eddie Howe did immediately after Celtic thrashed Newcastle United

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Well, pre-season has started in rather miserable fashion for Newcastle United after they were thrashed by Celtic.

Celtic beat Newcastle United 4-0 in the first of their official pre-season friendlies. While it should be noted that the Scottish giants are further ahead in their preparations for the new season, it was still a bitterly disappointing day for Eddie Howe’s side.

It has been a frustrating summer window for Newcastle thus far. Anthony Elanga’s arrival is a positive but the fact the club are yet to strengthen Howe’s squad any further is the source of huge frustration.

The Newcastle United manager has made one senior first-team signing in two years. So far this summer, the club have seen a number of deals fail to get off the ground.

Indeed, the Newcastle United squad is looking stretched, so to get thrashed by a team playing in a much less competitive league is hardly a great look. Howe is up against it ahead of the new season, so his immediate reaction to the Celtic game is noteworthy.

• READ MORE: The real reason why Alexander Isak is missing from Newcastle United’s friendly with Celtic

Eddie Howe leads Newcastle United squad to fans after Celtic loss

According to The Chronicle, some of the 10,000 travelling fans were still chanting “We love you Newcastle, we do” after the full-time whistle. 

Clearly, it would be unwise to read too much into the level of performance at this stage of the summer, but the supporters who made the journey up to Glasgow were hardly given much to shout about.

Howe is said to have ordered his players over to the fans still in the ground and shouted: “Come on.”

Eddie Howe is the only thing saving Newcastle United right now

The optics this summer are dreadful. There’s still time for things to change, but Newcastle are free of PSR concerns and still cannot seem to sign any players.

Everything takes so long. The Elanga deal dragged on even when it had been agreed for days, while there are still no new updates on the potential new stadium and training ground.

Newcastle remain without a sporting director, while there has been no update on the club’s next CEO.

Howe proved last season he can deliver huge success without much resource. Without him, it would surely have been a mess for two seasons now.