Eddie Howe sends jokey message to Newcastle United’s owners after Crystal Palace kickabout

Eddie Howe joked that Newcastle United’s owners better get ready for a first-team call-up following their post-Crystal Palace win kickabout.

Non-executive chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and co-owners Mehrdad Ghodoussi, Amanda Staveley and Jamie Reuben made their way down to the St James’ Park pitch after watching the 1-0 victory, where Miguel Almiron scored an excellent goal.

Indeed, it was third time lucky for Al-Rumayyan - whose previous two visits ended in defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Cambridge United - so celebrated the victory with a kickabout at full-time.

They certainly showed off their skills, with Reuben hilariously captured nutmegging Ghodoussi, while Al-Rumayyan exchanged a few well-placed passes.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of United’s trip to Norwich City on Saturday afternoon, Howe joked that they better get their boots ready for a call-up.

‘They’ve got some skills, haven’t they?’

“You need to be as one as a football club,” Howe said when asked about the unity on Tyneside. “From top to bottom, you need to be pulling in the right direction. For me, that’s the only way you can build towards success.

“(It’s) great to see the owners enjoying the experience of owning a football club - it is a very stressful and difficult business, the moments of happiness are actually quite rare.

“It was great to see them play. They’ve got some skills, haven’t they? They’ve got to be careful they don’t get the call up soon!”

What happened in the dressing room after the Palace win

Speaking after the win on Wednesday, Howe revealed what happened when Al-Rumayyan and United’s co-owners visited the dressing room after the game.

Howe said: “Yeah, he did come into the dressing room. He shared a moment with the players.

“He didn’t say anything but shared a moment and experienced the highs winning brings. I fully embrace that.

“I feel as close we can be as one, that will benefit everyone.

“You have to be aligned in your vision, that is so important when you are trying to take a club forward into hopefully a successful period.

“You have to be on the same wavelength with your decision-making process because if you’re not aligned then problems occur.

“I think it is a two-way thing, we have to talk regularly, communicate well. And then iron out any differences we may have.

“So far it has been a very positive relationship. January was key. I think we can all see the benefits of what January did for the team.”