Newcastle United fans will not be slow to put “enormous” pressure on owner Mike Ashley as the Magpies continue to keep club staff furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those are the thoughts of former boss Graeme Souness who has revealed his disappointment that the club are yet to copy Tottenham Hotspur in performing a u-turn on the decision.
The Magpies were the first of Premier League clubs to use the government scheme to pay 80% of the wages of furloughed staff.
Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich City did the same but now Spurs chief Daniel Levy has performed a u-turn, just as Liverpool did, after coming under intense scrutiny from supporters and the media alike.
That scrutiny now turns the way of Newcastle who have so far done nothing to indicate that they will follow suit.
The club’s first-team players continue to see their lucrative wages paid in full while non-playing staff are furloughed.
Managing director Lee Charney told staff via an email that the decision was vital to “safeguard the future of the club.”
But Souness is expecting the club’s fans to make their disappointment known in the coming days.
“They’re not a Spurs with their turnover of, I'd imagine, somewhere near £500m, like Liverpool the same,” Souness told Sky Sports’ Football Show.
“When you look at Newcastle, they don’t have that same big number and the same spend financially going forward.
“I think the people of Newcastle, a proper footballing city with good, salt of the earth-type individuals who tell you exactly how it is, will not be slow of putting their own club under pressure.”
