Eddie Howe will not be given 'free pass' in crunch talks with PIF this week - Report

Eddie Howe will meet with Newcastle United's owners at Matfen Hall this week as PIF representatives are in the UK for several key meetings about the future of the club.

While there's plenty for the owners and the Newcastle board to get stuck into, the one thing most people are interested in right now is how things will go when Eddie Howe walks into that meeting room.

Eddie Howe being part of these high-level meetings is nothing new. The PIF like to hear from the manager each year during these events, so it's not as if the under-pressure manager has been summoned to explain himself.

However, he will likely have to do just that to justify the backing he still enjoys from the board and the owners.

Eddie Howe will have to prove himself to the PIF again

The Telegraph has today reported that Eddie Howe will not be given a 'free pass' for the struggles of this season, even if he is still seen to be the man to lead the club forward.

If Howe doesn't convince the powers that be that he still has the passion and drive, and more importantly, the ideas to improve things next season, then the 48-year-old's job won't be as safe as is being made out.

The board and the owners will be very aware that the calls for change are getting louder from teh fanbase as discontent with the way the team is performing grows with each defeat.

Will we even find out what was discussed this week?

Eddie Howe will face the media on Friday morning for his usual pre-match press conference, and you can guarantee that this week's meetings will be very high on the journalists' agenda.

How much insight we'll actually get will depend on how nice Howe is feeling on the day, but we imagine that he and the board are likely to be rather tight-lipped about what was discussed.

We may get some crumbs of information that hint at how safe Howe's position is, but we're unlikely to get any definitive statement, as that's just not how the club operates these days. Gone are the days when fans were treated like the important part of the club that they are; we're all just wallets for them now, and wallets don't need information, apparently.