Paulo Fonseca admits he "loved" talking with Newcastle owners last year and has backed the Premier League club to fight for silverware under the new regime.
Fonseca, who most recently managed Roma, was one of the first candidates linked with replacing Steve Bruce last October. Conversations were held and Fonseca firmly believed he was the man chosen to lead the Magpies into their new era.
Eddie Howe was instead the coach tasked with saving Newcastle from relegation. But Fonseca clearly has no hard feelings about missing out on the St. James' Park, praising his fellow coach for the work he did this season.
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“I loved speaking with the people of Newcastle. It was just conversations, but I think they have a great vision for the future of the club. They picked well (with Howe) and they are making great progress. They were in a difficult situation. It is a great club, with a big future," he told the iNews.
"They are very ambitious, but very balanced. It is not easy because you have so many strong teams in England and is not clear what will happen in the next two or three years, but in the long term, Newcastle will be fighting for titles, I am sure."
Fonseca remains out of work but has spent recent months fleeing war-torn Ukraine after the Russian invasion earlier this year. He met his partner while managing Shakhtar Donetsk and resided in Kyiv until earlier this year before moving back to Portugal.
“We travelled 25 hours to get out of the country by road in that cramped minibus, but that is nothing compared to what is going on now for the people there,” Fonseca added. “The four days that I was there the people did not believe that war came to Kyiv. They knew about it happening in Donbas and Luhansk, but not in the capital.
“Things have got worse since. It is so unfair what is happening to such amazing people. They just want peace, nothing more. We cannot allow these murders anymore. It is just impossible to accept, these innocent people need help. What they are getting now is not enough.”
