Sky Sports.
Amanda Staveley has told Sky Sports News the long-term ambition for Newcastle United is to top the Premier League after the club’s takeover was completed on Thursday.
“Newcastle United deserves to be top of the Premier League. We want to get there. It will take time, but we will get there,” says Staveley, the chief executive of PCP Capital Partners who is now a director on the Newcastle board.
“We’re proud to be part of the Premier League. It’s an incredibly competitive league, which we love. Premier League football is the best in the world, and Newcastle United is the best team in the world.
“We want to see it get those trophies, obviously. At top of the Premier League, in Europe, but to get trophies means patience, investment, time. We want everybody to work with us to build the club towards what it needs to be.”
PCP Capital Partners are part of the investment group, which is led by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and also comprises of RB Sports & Media, that ended Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of Newcastle.
Staveley said the new owners “want to invest at every level”, and though Steve Bruce is expected to be replaced, she would not be drawn on the head coach’s future or plans for new players.
“We’ve got a great squad,” Staveley added. “I had a great chat with Jamaal [Lascelles] tonight as captain. We’re really excited about strengthening the squad, but we have to work within Financial Fair Play and make sure this is done over a longer term.
“But you can know and be reassured that we want to invest at every level. We want to get the best squad we possibly can.
“Everybody talks about it [big-name players], but what you need is a team that works well together. That’s also just as important.”
Asked if she had the chance to speak with Bruce, she said: “I did speak to the manager and say hello and introduce ourselves. We look forward to speaking to him over the next few days. There’s an international break so I think everybody is just relieved to have some rest before the Tottenham game.”
Asked about Bruce’s future, she said: “We’re very supportive of Steve and we’ve spoken to him. What we’re going to do is not talk about managers or what big signings we can make. We’re going to do a review right through the football operations, of the commercial side as well, and come back and make some decisions.”
Pushed further on whether Bruce would be in charge against Tottenham on October 17, live on Sky Sports, she added: “I’m not even able to talk about anything as to players or managers at this stage.”
