DAVID HOPKINSON claims Eddie Howe is not under pressure – then heaped it on him by declaring Newcastle want to be champions by 2030.
The Mags are into the play-off round of the Champions League but face a huge fight to return to Europe’s top stage next season.
An underwhelming Premier League campaign has left them sitting 11th, eight points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
That task was made all the more difficult by the failure to bring in a single new signing during the transfer window.
Despite that, Hopkinson stressed that he and the club’s Saudi PIF owners retain full faith in Howe as he went public on their target to become kings of England within four years.
Speaking to talkSPORT, when asked if Newcastle could win the Prem within a decade, the Toon CEO declared: “I think 10 years is too long. We have a high ambition here, we have a concrete plan, it’s a five-year plan that takes us through 2030, it has benchmarks along the way.
“A plan without a timeframe attached to it is just a fantasy; it’s a dream. We have a plan here, we have a strategy here, we’re working on it every single day, but 10 years is too long.
“This is not a 10-year project, the club and owners want to win the league by 2030.”
And even though they failed to bolster the squad over the past month, Hopkinson claimed Newcastle had enjoyed an “extraordinary” transfer window before doubling down on his 2030 vision.
He said: “Let me tell you, this was an extraordinary transfer window in terms of activity. We have an amazing sporting director in Ross Wilson. He’s been my first call in the morning and last call at night every day this month.
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“The activity has been incredibly high. We didn’t find the right opportunity for an acquisition, but we had the room to do so.
“The No.1 thing I talk to the ownership about is ambition. That’s the magic word here. We have total alignment on that. This is a club that, by 2030, will be consistently contending for the top prizes in global football.
“We have a lot of wood to chop between here and there. When I see Newcastle United, everywhere I look, I see opportunity.”
Meanwhile, one of the main topics on Hopkinson and the Saudi brass’ agendas is the new stadium – particularly whether to revamp St. James’ Park or build a brand new ground elsewhere from scratch.
Hopkinson added: “The truth is we haven’t decided. St James’ Park is a magical place and it’s going to be an extraordinary place on Saturday when we play our next (home) match.
“It’s nearly 53,000… we think it could be bigger. That, of course, is revenue and a major investment. We haven’t made the final decision on what we’re going to do but we’re working on this every day, deciding whether it’s here or on a new site.
“But we have an opportunity that we’re pursuing and we’re working on it every day. All of our modelling, on the capacity today, starts in the 60,000 range. I don’t think bigger than that is good but we want to make sure that, if we do something, it is material and significant… (an extra) 10 to 15 thousand here would be right.
“A new stadium is something we’re considering but not really moving that far. We don’t want to be in some farmer’s field out in the middle of nowhere. One thing that makes Newcastle so special is its location.”
