Eddie Howe says he arrived at Newcastle United one year ago and found a group of players in need of ‘help’ and who ‘wanted to be coached’.
The head coach has never previously opened up on the state of the team he inherited from Steve Bruce, who would repeatedly use the apparent limitations of his squad in mitigation against poor results.
A few weeks before last October's Saudi-led takeover, he said: 'Do you not think I want better players? Do you not think I want a better squad to choose from?