Steve Harper: 'Mike Ashley must engage with fans'

Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has urged club owner Mike Ashley to engage more with the fans.

The businessman, who paid around £135m for the Magpies in 2007, has angered supporters in the past with a number of controversial off-field decisions.

"If I had a message to Mike Ashley it would be to engage with the fans, to repair that relationship," Harper told The Telegraph.

"It's not totally broken but it doesn't just need a plaster on it, it needs to be fixed."

Harper left Newcastle for Hull City over the summer after 20 years at the club.