Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has delivered an ominous warning to the entire Premier League – ‘Newcastle are coming’.
The Magpies have spent years fighting relegation and merely existing, but are now looking to compete at the opposite end of the table.
The change of ownership has brought a new attitude, new ambition and new investment. And it has got Newcastle to third in the Premier League in the space of a year.
It has been a remarkable surge up the table from Newcastle, who have the financial muscle to stay near the top in the future. That is the aim of the owners, who want the club to be competing for the top honours very soon.
While that will delight Toon fans, it isn’t good news for the ‘big six’. They have dominated English football, but now a new force is looking to force its way in.
Newcastle are on the up, and it comes at a time when Manchester United are pining for the past. They haven’t won a league title since 2012/13 – Sir Alex Ferguson’s last season as manager.
The Red Devils can no longer rely on their reputation, with the teams below them getting better. That includes Newcastle, and Ten Hag is well aware of the threat Eddie Howe’s side pose.
What Ten Hag said on Newcastle and Eddie Howe
The Manchester United boss has been speaking to the Athletic, and discussed the rising standards in the Premier League. He then went into more detail about the threat of Newcastle.
“I look at the competition around the Premier League,” he said.
“They all have the opportunity to invest. It’s a tough competition between seven or eight clubs.
“That’s a change in circumstances when you compare with five or 10 years ago – the competition is much tougher. Newcastle are coming, even West Ham, maybe not now in the table, but they have huge investment, Spurs definitely, and then City, Chelsea and Liverpool, I don’t need to talk about them.”
Ten Hag then added: “They (Newcastle) have done well. They did the right investments and that is what you have to value. Make the right environment and culture and he (Eddie Howe) has done really well.”
Newcastle really are coming
With Howe at the helm, Newcastle are a completely different prospect. He has transformed the club, getting players to a level of performance that no one thought was possible.
His management combined with the right investment has taken Newcastle to third so far this season, and it is incredibly exciting to see where we will end up.
And this is only one season. Howe and the owners are setting the club up for years of success. This isn’t just a one-off season like when Leicester won the title. Newcastle challenging for Europe should become a consistent theme in the coming years.
Ten Hag has warned other clubs that Newcastle are coming under the management of Eddie Howe. However, Toon fans will argue that we are already here.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
