Former Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren has called on the club’s new owners to appoint a director of football as soon as possible.
A Saudi Arabian based consortium consisting of the Public Investment Fund, Amanda Staveley and the Reuben brothers completed their takeover of the club in October and have been undertaking all the football-based decisions since.
They have already moved quickly to secure the appointment of a new manager, replacing former boss Steve Bruce with Eddie Howe.
However, one decision they are yet to make is hiring a new director of football, despite a whole host of names having been linked with the vacant role.
The likes of Michael Emenalo, Marc Overmars and Ralf Rangnick have all reportedly been considered.
Rangnick, though, is no longer in the running after he was appointed as Manchester United’s interim manager earlier this week, a position he will hold for the rest of the season, before then taking up a two-year consultancy role at Old Trafford.
Emenalo is reportedly the leading candidate for the job, however the Magpies’ search could extend beyond January, as they look to conduct a thorough process.
Speaking to talkSPORT, though, McClaren thinks that his former side must appoint someone in the near future in order to provide Howe with the adequate support in day-to-day decision making.
He said: “I think Newcastle made a good appointment in Eddie Howe.
“I think they next need to get a good sporting director because behind the scenes, that’s a tough one.
“Creating a DNA at Newcastle is going to be very, very difficult and will take quite a while. Eddie can’t do it on his own, he needs the support of football people.”
