Chris Hughton: “It is a special club, a very special place.
“The fact the stadium is bang in the centre of the city says everything about what this club means. It is central to everything here. You won’t see that at too many other places.
“Even when they expanded the stadium it stayed where it was. Even in this era of planning permission it didn’t move. It dominates the skyline when you drive into the city, it is there looking over the city and it is the perfect symbol.
“It is the focal point of the city and the focal point of people’s lives. It has a local support, even people who aren’t really interested in football know what is happening at Newcastle United.
“People see it as their club. That’s why we have such fantastic support. It covers the whole life of the city, it’s such a big part of life up here and that grabs you. It is an alluring place.
“When you think of Newcastle as a city you immediately think of the football club. There aren’t many places like that in the world let alone England. There are other wonderful assets to this city, but such a big part of city life is the football club. That is what makes it so special.
“The fans want to see a winning team, but more than that they want to see a team which is giving everything it can to win. If you show that passion for the team they will take you to their heart.”