Newcastle United defender Fabian Schär has shared how happy he is at the club as they gear up to take on Manchester United in the league cup final.
Schär has been with the Magpies since joining in a €4m deal from Spanish side Deportivo de La Coruña in 2018 and has been a regular since that point, making 126 appearances in total.
Most of that time has seen him playing in considerably unhappy times, with the team struggling under previous managers and Mike Ashley’s disastrous reign.
Things have changed since Saudi Arabian investment at the club, though, with them bringing in Eddie Howe as manager to lead them away from relegation trouble.
They achieved that and then some and have not looked back since, sitting in the top four this season and reaching the League Cup final.
Schär is naturally delighted with that, already declaring himself a Geordie, and is keen to praise Howe for the work he has done so far.
“Football is the focus of my life, I gave up everything for my career,” he told NZZ.
“I am a sensitive person with an extreme winning mentality. That means that I’m not in a good mood for several days after defeats, I take the situation home with me and think about it.
“All of the decisions made by those responsible up until now have made sense – and they made a stroke of luck in Eddie Howe.
“We owe a lot to Eddie. For him, the focus is on people, he responds to everyone individually. His speeches and training content are always well thought out. I have never considered a meeting under him a waste of time. Before him, we were missing a game identity.”
While Howe has been dictating things on the sidelines, those in charge of the club have been working efficiently behind the scenes.
The new owners have been earning praise from day one, seemingly making a series of solid, smart decisions on a number of aspects at the club.
The first of those was hiring Howe after being turned down by Unai Emery but their sensible, calm approach in the transfer window and consistent communication with the fanbase.
That line of communication is also open with the playing squad, something Schär is more than impressed by.
“They took us with them from the start, kept coming into the dressing room and communicated transparently,” he added.
“That’s what made it. I think I could call them day or night and they would be right there. The club also spent a lot of money on the renovation of the training ground, which previously didn’t really deserve its name. The facility was not a place we liked going to work.
“The transfers gave us a boost. We were happy about every reinforcement. The club made sure not only to get good players, but also those with good character.
“Because our team spirit was our biggest plus even in the really bad phases. With 14 games without a win at the beginning of the pre-season, things could have been a lot worse for our team spirit back then.”
