Alan Shearer believes Eddie Howe should win Premier League Manager of the Year for his turnaround at Newcastle United.
The Magpies boss made a six-man shortlist for the award, with supporters voting until last week and the winner set to be announced on Tuesday. As well as Howe, Mikel Arteta, Roberto De Zerbi, Unai Emery, Pep Guardiola and Marco Silva were also nominated, with fan votes combined with those of a panel of experts to decide the winner.
And having guided Newcastle to a top-four finish and thus ensuring Champions League qualification at Newcastle just a year after succeeding in the goal of avoiding relegation, the Toon goalscoring legend believes there is only one real winner of the prestigious award.
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Shearer told Match of the Day: "Manager of the season for me. The way he's galvanised the city, the way he's created the unity that he mentioned. From where they were 18 months ago when there was a real chance of them being relegated to now finish fourth and have Champions League football...
"He's improved so many of the players that were already there and he's done an outstanding job. He deserves all of the credit he's got and is getting."
Newcastle rounded off a magnificent season with a 1-1 draw away at Chelsea having already secured their top-four finish. Howe and co now hope to build on the campaign as they look to strengthen the squad ahead of next season where they'll look to continue to challenge for a top-four spot while also playing in Europe.
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