ROB LEE says Eddie Howe is the right man to lead Newcastle’s new era because he understands the Geordie nation.

Lee, a midfielder in Kevin Keegan’s side of extravagant entertainers in the mid-90s, said: “Eddie gets the club. He gets the area.

“The Newcastle manager has to get the club. Kevin Keegan got it, he got all the fans. Bobby Robson was a Geordie. He 100% got it.

“And I think Eddie gets it. He doesn’t commute, he lives in the area. It’s very important for the fans to see that.

“I knew he was a good manager. He did it at Bournemouth.  But Newcastle is a huge club.

“You have to be able to deal with the fans, with big players. He’s dealt with that fantastically well. Speaking to the players now, they love him. They love the way he trains.”

The love has been spread among the Newcastle fans, too. The Sky Bet Fan Hope Survey shows that 81% feel the club now cares about them, compared to just 17% when it was run by Mike Ashley.

Lee insists Howe should be given time at St James’ Park. He added: “This will be a big season for him. He did a fantastic job in keeping us up. We were bottom by a million miles and hadn’t won in 14 games when he took over.

“Newcastle fans now expect to finish in the top ten and they want us to go for Europe, which is a big ask.

“You want Newcastle to give Eddie time. If he doesn’t meet their expectations or get them into the top four this season, you don’t want them getting rid of him and going for a big-name manager. I think we’ve got the right manager, I really do. He gets it.”