When Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe collected the manager of the month award for November, he instantly made it known that it was an accolade for the team and the staff around him. “I'm delighted to collect that for them,” he told Sky Sports. It’s another reminder of Howe’s approach to life at Newcastle and management as a whole - the team is everything.
That approach has been built into everything he has done at Newcastle in the 12 months he’s been in charge - everything positive that has come over the last year has had a sense of unity running through it. From the training pitch to the boardroom to the stands - the cliche of ‘we win together, we lose together’ is one that would sum up Newcastle United.
The turnaround in that time has been quite remarkable. As Newcastle break for the World Cup, they sit third but this time last year, they sat bottom of the Premier League still without a win. And yet, Howe remains as modest as ever.
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Asked about what has been achieved so far, there’s no ego or temptation to stick it to those who doubted he was the right man to lead United. There’s a real sense of the team is only as good as its last victory. There was an insight into that approach in United’s last victory - the one-nil win over Chelsea.
Howe, speaking to the club media, was asked to reflect on the season so far and went on to list what was so pleasing - even praising the interviewer Dan King for his efforts. It was another sign of just how much Howe values every member of the club’s staff.
“Very, very good on all levels,” he said. “Really pleased with the players, really pleased with the squad, really pleased with the staff, really pleased with you and your questioning, and really pleased with everybody. It’s been more than we could have hoped for at the start of the season.”
But what about the break? It comes at a time when Newcastle top the form table and have momentum fully behind them. Yet there’s no sense of injustice from Howe about a few weeks off - ‘it is what it is’ he told reporters after the Chelsea game.
He’s not one to try and control what he can’t - the break as much as an inconvenience as it may be to a Newcastle side in full flow, there’s nothing he can do about it other than an attempt to make it work to his advantage.
“We know hard work is the key to what happens after so we’re very focused on the second half and hopefully we can come back from the break even better. There’s plenty to do when you’re managing a club this size. I’ll enjoy a few days [off] but then the challenge is to come back and make sure we’re hitting the ground running.”
It reaffirms what many said of Howe’s approach to management - meticulous in his methods and always striving to improve. There’s no resting on your laurels with Howe - maybe stung by his experience at Bournemouth as he slipped from the highs to relegation to The Championship.
And this approach to management, to leading Newcastle is something some United fans will still be struggling to get their heads around. Mix it up with the elements of Howe’s style - the aforementioned team approach as opposed an individualistic one, as well as the simply believing in every single player - it’s a manager that the club had long courted but perhaps has never had since the days of Sir Bobby Robson.
And yet, as fans and pundits now seriously consider United for a top-four challenge - even to emulate the days of Sir Bobby in the dugout - Howe still doesn’t get ahead of himself nor allows himself to slip into believing the job is done.
That modesty is perhaps one of Howe’s most important weapons because if he keeps his feet firmly on the ground and continues to push the ‘team’ narrative while at the same time always looking to improve, the hope will be it stops an arrogance slipping into the dressing room which potentially sees players become individuals.
The scenario with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United shows how troublesome that can be. Under Howe, his modesty may prove to be one of his greatest assets to the success that looks imminent.
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