It was the one serious moment in an hour-long stand-up routine in the City. Quizzed last month about his company’s dramatic fall from grace on the stock market, Mike Ashley replied: “My message to shareholders is, ‘You’ve got to hang on. It can’t get any worse, the only way is up.’ ” The irony will not be lost on the Newcastle United fans who have seen their beloved football club reduced to a laughing stock under the billionaire’s ownership. Memories of Ashley buying drinks for 600 revellers in a Bigg Market nightclub and showing off his belly with fans have faded into the distance. Even the manager of Portsmouth has turned down the Toon Army.

The only place where Ashley’s stock has fallen lower is in the City, where Sports Direct, the 42-year-old’s business, joined the London Stock Exchange 11 months ago. The group, home to the Sports World and Lillywhites store chains, was given a market value of more than £2 billion, handing Ashley a £929 million fortune. The shares then went into freefall as demand for replica England shirts fell off a cliff because of the poor performance of the national team and Ashley fell badly out of favour with City analysts, the key armchair pundits in London’s financial heartland.

In his first interview as chairman of Sports Direct last summer he dismissed critics as “cry babies” and said that, with his “balls of steel”, he would survive. At one point in December the shares were 72 per cent below the February float price. However, there are signs that the sentiment towards Sports Direct is changing, that Ashley is mending bridges and it should give heart to football fans on Tyneside.

Ashley resembled a rabbit in the headlights in the City for much of last year. He left the job of fostering relations with the financial community to others and it backfired. In December, the character that everyone had heard about emerged at a Sports Direct results presentation. While the audience lapped up the wisecracks – “Steve McClaren? He’s there with the ex-wife on the ‘Do not get a Christmas card’ list” – there was also finally a glimpse of his retailing know-how, given that he started out with one shop in 1982.

The seemingly random purchases of shares in other companies were seen in a new light when Nike made a top-price bid for Umbro shortly after Ashley had bought a 15 per cent stake in the business. He has also waited in the office of one City analyst whom he had labelled a “moron” in order to clear the air.

People who know Ashley will not be surprised at reports that he wants to take greater control over recruiting the new manager at Newcastle. He will be more concerned in making the club, as his investment, a success than his standing in the eyes of fans.

He is also keenly aware of the pressure. After joking about “doing a Roman Abramovich” and picking the team at St James’ Park, he was asked who was harder to please, the City or the Newcastle fans. “The Toon Army, without a doubt.”