'I don't care': Mad Dog Jason Tindall defends his title as 'The most irritating man in football'

When the PIF and Amanda Staveley took over Newcastle United, Staveley sat down with reporters to say that we were going to win everything, I doubt even she would know that our assistant manager would be bestowed with the title of "The Most Irritating Man In Football". We're here to win everything!

In all seriousness, as much as we can see where that for Jason Tindall title would come from, we're talking about a guy who exists in the game at the same time as Ryan Yates. He's not even close to the most irritating man in football.

Fortunately, being branded as such doesn't seem to bother Mad Dog too much as he's developed a thick skin - probably all that tanning.

Eddie Howe's second-in-command has been with him from the start and over the years the pair have developed a perfect understanding and way of working.

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Mad Dog Tindall doesn't give a rat's arse what you think of him

Jason Tindall tells Luke Edwards for The Telegraph that he doesn't mean to be so annoying, but it's just his nature to challenge things when he doesn't agree, but he doesn't care what people think of the way he behaves.

"It’s not my intention to attract attention if that makes sense. People say I’ve got too high a profile for an assistant manager, how that has come about, but again, I don’t take any notice of it or think I’m going to do this to gain more attention.

“The outside world can say what they say, but it’s just me. I just go about my business. This isn’t new and Ed will say the same, the way I am at Newcastle is exactly the same as I was at Bournemouth.

“It’s part of my character, I don’t care what people think [including opposition managers]. I know who I am, the job I do and the influence I have over a lot of things. And the only thing I care about is doing my job the best I can for Newcastle United.

“I don’t care if I’m upsetting people along the way. People will probably judge the way I look, what I wear and how I behave. None of this is new to me. The reality is I do not give a s--- what people think and what people say because I’m confident in my own skin, I’m confident in what I do. If you don’t know me, what you think doesn’t matter in the slightest.”

Jason Tindall is a Geordie!

We wouldn't change a thing about him. If he's there antagonising the opposition bench, then that just means they're distracted from the game, which will allow Eddie Howe to pass his messages on without fear of being intercepted.

In fact, we dare bet that many other clubs wish they had an assistant manager who was just as, if not more, passionate than the manager. A loyal attack dog who does the dirty work to leave the manager to do what they do best.

For us, it's not just the fact that he's a raving heed the ball, but that it comes from a place of genuinely wanting to win and do what's best for Newcastle United. You can't fake that kind of passion. Tindall is a Geordie!