Newcastle chief Darren Eales has penned a response to the Supporters' Trust over season ticket price increases.

The NUST have urged the club to "put people over profit" after prices were raised 3.3% on average across the stadium.

Eales stated in his response: "You, as supporters, are the lifeblood of the club. I have spoken often about how important your support is for our teams, and we must not – and will not – take that for granted. That is why we are committed to keeping football affordable and to ensuring we take everyone on the exciting journey ahead.

"To continue building towards our ambitious targets, we must make challenging decisions along the way, and we have carefully considered our ticketing structure for next season. Our objective has been to continue providing a range of ticketing options that offer excellent value and flexible ways to pay, while remaining competitive on and off the pitch both now and in the future...although our matchday and operational costs have increased considerably in recent years, we have continued to do our utmost to limit the impact on supporters by setting sensible prices and driving revenue in other areas.

"All the while, we have made tangible progress in developing our facilities and enhancing the matchday experience, as well as investing significantly to attract and retain top talent. Rather than prioritising profit over people, as you succinctly put it, we are trying to balance the needs of people and performance. We are cognisant of the needs of the supporters we serve and the challenges many people in our communities are facing, and so our ticket prices continue to benchmark favourably compared to the vast majority of our competitors in the Premier League."