EDDIE HOWE has reaffirmed his commitment to Newcastle United – no matter what happens with the England manager’s job during the forthcoming World Cup finals.

The Magpies head into the World Cup break sitting in third position in the Premier League table after Joe Willock’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the weekend, with the victory making it seven successes from the last eight league games.

The Premier League will not resume until Boxing Day with attention now switching to the World Cup in Qatar, with England heading to the Middle East with huge question marks over the future of their manager, Gareth Southgate.

If England flop over the course of the next month, Southgate’s position will be called into question, with the former Middlesbrough manager already under pressure after a disappointing Nations League campaign that ended in relegation. If England reach another semi-final or final in Qatar, Southgate may decide to call it a day anyway after presiding over three major tournaments.

Howe is currently the highest-ranked English manager in the Premier League, and if Southgate was to leave, there is every chance the Football Association would identify the Newcastle head coach as a potential England boss.

Howe has previously admitted he would be extremely honoured to lead his country, but with Newcastle’s development under their new Saudi Arabia-backed ownership group still at a formative stage, the 44-year-old is adamant he has no interest in leaving Tyneside just yet.

“I’m absolutely proud on honoured to be here managing this unbelievable football club,” said Howe, whose side head into the World Cup break with 30 points from their first 15 league matches. “My only focus is on Newcastle.

“Now, my focus is probably to have a couple of days with my family, and then reset on our training and all the processes that I need to make sure that we hit the ground running in the second half of the season.”

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