Darren Eales makes 'stronger' Newcastle United claim after St James' Park 'upgrade' & major commercial deal

The Magpies are looking to build on a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season that ultimately saw them miss out on European football after Manchester United took the final European place by finishing eighth and winning the FA Cup.

While progress has been limited on the transfer front heading into the final two weeks of the window, there has been plenty of movement off the field with the kit manufacturing deal with Adidas and the opening of the St James’ STACK fan zone ahead of the new season.

The St James’ STACK opened last Thursday ahead of the Sela Weekender matches against Girona and Stade Brestois at St James’ Park. The Magpies will open the 2024-25 Premier League season at home to newly-promoted Southampton on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

“It’s football,” Eales said. “It never chugs along for long. You have your ups and downs, but the reality is, if you look at the club, it’s an amazing club in terms of its fanbase, the history, the heritage, and the supporters that we have, I think there was a change in terms of the things we needed to do from an infrastructure place, and none of that can happen overnight.

“I get that we all, nowadays, want to get from A to B as quick as we can, but some things take time, and I think we’re starting to see the fruits of getting that structure in place. We’ve obviously got an amazing coach in Eddie [Howe], lots of great players in the team.

“Things like Stack, that’s going to make a difference on matchday and non-matchday, but [opening that] takes time. You’ve got to get planning permission.

“We’re delighted to get Adidas, but that took time, because we needed our former contract [with Castore] to end. Little by little, as each month goes on, we’re getting more of that infrastructure in place.

“I’m not naive and know tomorrow the next shock could come, but that’s the beauty of working in football. You have the highs and lows, and it’s a rollercoaster ride.

“I’d like to think the way we tried to measure it is as each season goes by, we’re stronger off the pitch.

“Disappointed we didn’t make Europe last year, but now you have to say ‘Okay, what’s the positive of that?’. It’s when Eddie has that week-to-week without European football, he’s got a real chance to set the team up.

“It gives us a real chance to attack the league, attack the domestic cups, and see how far we can get.” The 2024-25 campaign will be Newcastle’s third full season since the takeover. After finishing fourth, qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the Carabao Cup final during the 2022-23 season, last season was more disappointing as an injury-hit Magpies failed to get out of their Champions League group and reached the quarter-final of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.