‘A perfect marriage’ - Newcastle United performance boffin clarifies role after ‘frosty’ Eddie Howe comments

Newcastle United performance director James Bunce aims to “expedite” his relationship with Eddie Howe to trigger an era of success at St James’ Park.

New sporting director Paul Mitchell worked alongside Bunce at Monaco and, as his first major act, brought him to Tyneside. His appointment came amid the backdrop of Newcastle’s most injury-ravaged season - with 1,426 days missed in 2024-25.

However, Bunce was placed into an awkward spot when Howe hinted at change potentially disrupting the club. The manager’s frosty comments came as speculation linking him with England ramped up.

“There has been a lot of change,” Howe said. “It has been a very ­difficult summer for everyone ­connected with the club. With change comes always a new feeling. 

“I have been really happy for two and a half years. I have loved every second of the ­relationships that I’ve had and the way I’ve been able to work. I think that has brought success. We’re in the flux of change, I can’t say with a ­definitive answer where that will lead.”

While Bunce, who worked at Monaco, the US men’s and women’s teams and the Premier League before joining Newcastle, admitted the relationship is “new”, he remains confident they can strike a “perfect marriage”. He told NUFC TV: “Look, the first three weeks have been brilliant. I meet Eddie every day, we sit at breakfast every morning. We're chatting about things. 

“Yesterday, me and some of my staff were presenting with his staff and discussing the schedule up to the international break past the Tottenham game. We’re getting into that micro and macro detail every minute. Obviously, it’s a new relationship and we’re trying to expedite that as much as possible to learn how we both work.

“But my job is to provide healthy, fit players to Eddie, to do the amazing things he does on the field. Just by watching his sessions, there’s never a dull moment. It’s constant and relentless coaching, support and development of players.

“From a performance department perspective, that’s the perfect marriage. You want to see the physicality of the sessions and how we want to play. You really do see that from him. We have the same goal: to win, win, win. There’s never any conflict in that. The single North Star goal is that we want to win.”