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Monday (October 7) was three years to the day since the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia-led consortium completed its £305million takeover, ending Mike Ashley’s tumultuous 14-year spell.

In the opening two years, it was all an upward trajectory with Howe guiding the Magpies away from Premier League relegation trouble to the dizzy heights of the Champions League. where they famously hammered Paris Saint-German 4-1 last October, as well as reaching the final of the Carabao Cup - losing 2-0 to Manchester United.

However, the last 12 months or so haven’t been as successful. An unprecedented amount of injuries last season took its toll on the squad, ultimately seeing them miss out on Europe despite finishing in a respectable seventh place.

And off the pitch, it has been even more unsettling following the departure of Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and the pressure to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) forcing the sales of promising young duo Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh in order to avoid a points deduction.

On the day PIF officially arrived, Staveley said it was Newcastle’s ambition to win the Premier League title within 5-10 years while Yasir Al-Rumayyan has gone on record to say he wants the club to be “No.1”.

But Howe believes the club’s progress has been slowed by financial rules, batting away suggestions of false promises.

United have spent around £450m on new signings but made little sales in return which resulted in a reported £60m blackhole in their accounts ahead of the PSR deadline on June 30. Meanwhile, Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have limited the Magpies’ ability to generate as much commercial income as possible.

Howe said: “Five years does seem short, especially in my shoes! At the time I don’t think the statements were rash. There was a feeling the club at that stage really could invest what it wanted. There is no guarantee that even with that investment you will win things, we all know that. But it gives you a much better chance.

“Since then there has been a real tightening of the rules. So it is unfair to judge them by those comments with the changing of the rules. Now it has become, I wouldn’t say impossible, but it has become very very difficult to achieve what they initially thought they could achieve through no fault of their own.”

Newcastle are into the next phase of the takeover with a summer of change on Tyneside seeing Staveley and Ghodoussi depart before Paul Mitchell joined as sporting director.

And rumbling on in the background is the future of St James’ Park. A decision on whether PIF will sign off a stadium cheque to extend the current venue or potentially build a new one elsewhere is set to be made in early 2025.

“I can only talk about since I've been here and the support we've had internally has been brilliant from everyone at PIF, to the owners,” Howe continued. “And I think there's been a big change when you look at just the environment, the room we're sat in now. That doesn't happen by chance, that happens because of investment and the investment here at the training ground's been there for everyone to see.

“Of course there's a lot of work going on with stadiums and discussions about taking the club into sort of a next phase of that takeover I think. The next phase of investment, which will be the long-term growth of the club and that's really the key decisions and I know that's why everyone's taking the time to try and make sure those decisions are right. But I think it's a really exciting time to be associated with Newcastle.

“I think there's a lot going to happen in the future. The dreaded words of PSR and that would just put a lid on what can be done now but I think the future looks very bright beyond that period."

So, how far away are Newcastle from being an “elite” team?

"I think we've got work to do,” Howe replied. “We're not there yet. I think we're well aware of where we currently stand. You know, when you look at revenue and wage bills and all the things that are sort of really key markers of long-term and consistent success, we're not there so we can't sort of put that pressure on the players that we have now.

“It would be unfair on them to sort of restrict them in that way. I want them to play with freedom and enjoy their football and to try and take the pressure off them. Now that doesn't mean that we don't push them hard for winning and for the maximum of their capabilities, which we will do.

“But I think we have to recognise where we currently are and we're striving to get there. We're certainly not there yet."