Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has heaped praise on incoming Aston Villa boss Unai Emery - but insists he will not be seeking out the Spaniard at St James' Park on Saturday. Emery is expected to be on Tyneside this weekend as he gets the first look at his new club from the stands.
The former Arsenal and Villarreal boss was the front-runner to replace Steve Bruce at Newcastle 12 months ago, with talks breaking down after initial progress. Howe eventually landed the gig but says he will be too preoccupied on Saturday to try and meet Emery for a discussion about Newcastle.
"No I won't be [trying to see him], I've got too much to think and to worry about to do that. I'll be focused on Newcastle," the Magpies boss joked on Friday.
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Howe may not be in the mood to discuss beating his managerial counterpart to the Newcastle job but was incredibly complimentary about Emery and his recent success across Europe. "There's all sorts of coincidences in football," he continued.
"For me, I've said many times Unai is a fantastic manager. An unbelievable record in various countries. Europe especially. A brilliant appointment by Aston Villa. But for me, I'm very proud to be leading this team and looking forward to the challenges ahead."
Emery turned down the Newcastle role to stay with Villarreal last season as they attempted to achieve domestic and European success. Speaking recently, the new Villa Park chief explained he initially found the prospect of managing the north east side appealing before deciding to remain in Spain.
“The Newcastle project is an attractive project – something to build, different to Arsenal,” Emery told The Athletic this year. “With Arsenal, you first had to knock down the walls, which is hard work, then start to build again.
“Newcastle, no – it was just about building from the ground up. So it is different and I liked the idea. But I was also grateful to Villarreal for the opportunity they gave me – and we were in the Champions League.”
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