Eddie Howe inists Newcastle will NOT have a ‘bottomless pit’ of money to spend this summer

• Newcastle will qualify for the Champions League with a draw against Leicester 
• Eddie Howe says they will have to spend carefully despite potential extra income
• Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi spoke to the players this month

Eddie Howe says Newcastle will not have a ‘bottomless pit’ of money to spend, even if they qualify for the Champions League.

The Magpies need only a draw against Leicester at St James’ Park on Monday to be sure of a top-four finish, and a cash boost of at least £80million.

Sources say achieving that would mean a very different summer to the one they had envisaged, given the extra funds and the need to strengthen the squad.

Howe, though, insists that the club will still be bound by financial spending restrictions.

‘Regardless of what happens, we’re not going to have a bottomless pit,’ he said. ‘We will be under tight constraints. Whatever we do in the transfer market, we’re going to have to be very smart. In the three transfer windows I’ve had, we’ve been excellent, and we have to continue that.’

Howe also says that work on recruitment will continue straight after next Sunday’s curtain call at Chelsea.

‘Unfortunately, yes, which means you’re on a sort of a conveyor belt that you can’t get off,’ he said. ‘Everyone will say, “That’s a great achievement” – but all I can think of is that next challenge coming and being prepared for it.

‘You can’t sit back and say, “Right, I’m going to take a month off and go and relax on a beach”. It’s the opposite – it’s, “OK, how can we best now succeed in that next phase?”. You’re always on a cycle of trying to improve.’

Howe, meanwhile, has revealed that he invited the club’s co-owners, Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, to talk to his players earlier this month.

’It was just to have that contact with the owners, because it’s so important as a club we’re one from top to bottom,’ he said. ‘They came in, spoke to the players, they were absolutely brilliant. 

‘It was a nice moment, actually, just for everyone in the room to consolidate their thoughts on each other and then try to focus on the last few games that we had, and it made a positive impact on us.’