Duo leave Newcastle United as Eddie Howe confirms backroom plans

Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence have left Newcastle United.
Newcastle United coaches Steve Agnew, Steve Harper and Stephen Clemence share a joke on the pitch in January.Newcastle United coaches Steve Agnew, Steve Harper and Stephen Clemence share a joke on the pitch in January.
Newcastle United coaches Steve Agnew, Steve Harper and Stephen Clemence share a joke on the pitch in January.

Agnew and Clemence, brought to the club by former head coach Steve Bruce, had stayed on to assist Graeme Jones during his three-game spell in charge. However, the pair have now left the club following the appointment last week of new head coach Eddie Howe.

Howe revealed at his first press conference that he was bringing Jason Tindall, Stephen Purches, Simon Weatherstone and Dan Hodges with him to St James’s Park.

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The quartet were with Howe at Bournemouth, the club he guided from League Two to the Premier League.

“Coming with are Jason Tindall, Stephen Purches, Simon Weatherstone and Dan Hodges,” said Howe, who has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the club.

The club, which is 19th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s home game against 14th-placed Brentford, is yet to formally confirm the backroom changes, but an announcement is understood to be imminent.

Howe also confirmed that Jones – who assisted Tindall at Bournemouth last season before his move to Newcastle in January – would stay on at the club.

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“Graeme Jones is still in the mix, and I’m delighted to work with him,” said 43-year-old Howe. “Adding someone to my backroom team was something I considered during my break, and it’s something I positively wanted to do.

"So, having Graeme already here in situ, someone I know and respect and really like, I think it’s going to be a perfect match for us.”

Bruce left the club last month following a winless start to the season.