Dan Ashworth tried to cover his tracks by deleting the email he sent to his Newcastle account revealing secret talks with Manchester United - and then claimed comments by Eddie Howe had made his position untenable.
Mail Sport reported on Tuesday how Newcastle's sporting director sent an email in early February to Omar Berrada - the incoming Man United chief executive - in which he made it clear he wanted to accept the offer of the same role at Old Trafford.
However, Ashworth sent a blind copy to his Newcastle email address before apparently realising the error and deleting the evidence.