Roy Keane believes the 'energy' around Newcastle United at St James' Park will be 'hugely important' as the Magpies look to get the new season off to a perfect start at home on Saturday.
Newcastle have only lost two Premier League games at St James' under Eddie Howe and those defeats came against title-chasing Man City and Liverpool. That is far from a coincidence.
Rather than being cowed by the club's passionate support, as some managers have in the past, Howe has looked to harness it since taking charge just a few weeks after the takeover last year. Whether it is welcoming members of the Wor Flags fan group to the training ground or making sure players and staff embark on a lap of appreciation after every game, regardless of the result, Howe has taken a number of steps to bring the group and supporters even closer together.
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Results have helped, too, of course and St James' has not been quite such a fortress since the days of Sir Bobby Robson. In fact, Howe became the first Newcastle boss since Sir Bobby to win six top-flight fixtures in a row at home last season.
Perhaps, it is not a surprise that the club's owners want to exhaust every possible avenue to one day expand St James' rather than move elsewhere and Keane, for one, has taken note of the change of mood on Tyneside.
"He brought the feel good factor," the Manchester United great told Sky Bet ahead of Newcastle's season opener against Nottingham Forest at St James'. "The home form, there was an atmosphere there, a change of mindset with the new owners coming in.
"Obviously, the fans were delighted: the new people on board, new signings coming in, playing some decent stuff. The home record in the second half of the season was fantastic so the energy around the club is hugely important to him."
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