Saudi owners sent clear message as Eddie Howe issues summer challenge to Toon chiefs

Watching Eddie Howe’s last pre-match press conference, it was very interesting to hear what he had to say on our summer plans and bid to keep our best players.

His message was clear and pretty direct, challenging our Saudi-backed owners to show ambition this summer, believing their plans and the direction of this project for the “foreseeable future” will have a major bearing on the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak.

Howe feels we must “continue to grow” and “push forward” as a football club, believing we mustn’t just talk a good game but deliver this summer, whether we qualify for Europe or not.

“Seeing players linked with other clubs doesn’t mean anything. We have to continue to grow the club in lots of different ways. Europe would help (qualify for the Europa League) to a degree, but I don’t think it would be the defining factor. It’s always in the player’s and the club’s hands.

“A lot will depend on our ambitions and where the club is going in the foreseeable future. I don’t think one season necessarily dictates that. I think it’s the general feeling of where the club is going.

“We need to, as a football club, continue to push forward, which I know is the intention of everyone. But you set your ambitions not just in talking, but in actions. So we need to show to them that we are a club moving forward.”

Howe also discussed recent reports linking Bruno and Isak with moves away and addressed what is going to be a “difficult summer” as we bid to improve our first team once again.

“Who knows what the future holds. But for our part in it we have to try to make the player at home, and happy, develop them, develop their careers, develop their talents and hopefully that is enough to keep them here for a long time.

“It’s going to be a difficult summer. Not to say what positions we want to improve, because I would have my idea where I want to take the team, but there are a lot of unknown factors going into the summer, so it’s going to be quite difficult to prepare for what’s going to happen.”