Eddie Howe has ruled himself out of contention for the vacant Manchester United job, after support from a flurry of former players.
Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes are among those to have championed the cause of the Newcastle boss, while Gary Neville is another admirer.
But Howe says he is happy on Tyneside and, tellingly, he has pointed to his new relationships with the club’s hierarchy as reason for his contentment. Ruben Amorim was sacked this week amid tension with Manchester United’s director of football Jason Wilcox.
In September, Newcastle appointed David Hopkinson as chief executive and Ross Wilson as sporting director.