‘I hated it’ - Amanda Staveley on embarrassing Mike Ashley legacy at Newcastle United

Amanda Staveley has revealed Newcastle United’s training ground was her “bugbear” when she first bought the club.

Supporters had long joked about how inadequate the Magpies’ facilities were compared to rival Premier League clubs. That infamous image of Newcastle players using wheelie bins as ice baths still haunts Toon supporters to this day.

The new regime - of which Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi are six per cent shareholders - have invested around £10million into the training ground since buying the club from Mike Ashley. As part of the revamp, the women’s team also relocated their headquarters to the Benton base.

It is expected in the coming years that Newcastle will develop a five-star facility akin to Manchester City’s Etihad Campus. Speaking to The Athletic, co-owner Staveley admitted the substandard training ground was her biggest gripe upon arrival.

“Everything is up for discussion,” she said when asked about a new training centre. “When we took over, I think we all assumed the right solution would be to put everyone (male and female teams) together.

“But what I’ve learned is to bring in the best people and help them work out what’s needed. We want to provide the best environment and facilities for both teams, whether that’s under the same roof or with separate training grounds.

“The men’s team now have a fantastic training ground, which had to happen because we couldn’t have attracted elite athletes to come to Newcastle if we hadn’t drastically improved. It was one of my real bugbears when we took over. It was awful.”