The 'big thing' Newcastle United owners did at full-time after Brighton draw

Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon brought an end to their 2023-24 home campaign.

And to mark the occasion, Newcastle’s owners, staff, players and their families joined in the traditional lap of honour as they showed their appreciation to the supporters and vice-versa.

Among those spotted on the pitch at full-time were chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia delegates, plus co-owners Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben.

Asked about their appearance, United boss Eddie Howe said: “The big thing on that is you want the club to be united and be one team, and I do think we’ve had that since I’ve been here. Really united support network from players to staff to owners, I think you can see the relationship we have.

“They came onto the pitch at the end which I think is really healthy. A chance for everyone to show appreciation for each other so I think there is a really good feeling about the club at the moment.”

Howe was also pleased his players got to share the moment with their partners and children, describing the experience as “very special”.

The 46-year-old added: “It’s an amazing thing, and the beauty of that moment is you get the players and staff’s families to come onto the pitch.

“Those people are so fundamentally important to our lives but they never get to share any of the experiences that we get or they’re never really seen so it’s really nice to get everybody’s children on the pitch sharing and embracing everything to do with Newcastle. Very special.”

Although Newcastle won’t be back at St James’ Park until August, the 2023-24 campaign isn’t yet over. Howe’s men travel to Manchester United and Brentford next week as they look to secure European qualification.

“Two huge games,” said Howe. “The Manchester United game is set up perfectly, isn’t it? That’ll be massive for us, we’ll give everything we can to try and get a positive result. And of course, Brentford will take care of itself on the last day. But as we said all along, it’s probably going to go to the wire.”