Steve Bruce is almost certain to be sacked but the Newcastle hierarchy want a succession plan in place before getting rid of him.

 

Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery are reportedly the leading contenders to become the next Newcastle boss and Howe has also been linked with the job.

 

 

The former Bournemouth boss rejected an offer to join Celtic earlier this year and Bent admitted that he is shocked that he is still out of work given the job he did at the Vitality Stadium.

 

He insisted that Newcastle are in a relegation battle and Howe would be perfect for what they need right now.

 

 

However, the 43-year-old will not want to warm the seat for a bigger name and will want time to build a squad at Newcastle over a certain period of time.

 

Bent said on talkSPORT: “I am shocked that he is still out of work.

 

 

“What he did at Bournemouth was remarkable, in terms of where he took them from the bottom of the league and nearly going out of business to all the way to the Premier League.

 

“The issue they are going to have is that someone like Eddie Howe will not want to be a stepping stone.

 

“He is going to go with some guarantees that he is going to have an amount of time to bring in the players that they want.

 

“But I think he would be the perfect stop-gap.

 

“They can’t go out and sign the big players, people are getting carried away, they are in a relegation battle.

 

“I think he would be perfect for it.”

 

Newcastle fans again vocally demanded the sacking of Bruce during their defeat at home to Tottenham on Sunday.