Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has hit out at Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp over his criticism of the club's owners.
Klopp sarcastically "congratulated" Saudi-owned Newcastle - along with Manchester City and PSG - on having "no ceiling" when it came to finances last week, responding to an interview by Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth in which he had talked about ambition of the club.
However, Howe says the German misinterpreted Ashworth's meaning, prompting him to set the record straight.
"I'm aware that one or two comments might not have been totally accurate and that's when I have to stand up for my football club," he said.
"What Dan meant was there's no ceiling to our ambition long-term. It's a difficult one because it's probably been used in the wrong way [by Klopp].
"We have huge plans and want to go to places with huge ambitions. But the reality of what we are working towards and working with, there is a ceiling. Financial Fair Play, we're still in a training ground that's been renovated, we're not living the life that is being discussed. When you know the truth of what we've done, we are living a very different reality.
"The club could have gone a totally different way I'm sure, with the takeover and everything that was talked about. But we've done it the opposite way. We haven't splashed the money people maybe thought we would have done initially. Our wage bill is very controlled. We're trying to do things in a very stable and controlled way. We are a long, long way from where we want to be.
"Although we have spent money on players (£200million this year), it has not been extravagant or out of sync with the rest of the Premier League. Everyone has to be careful with their comments and opinions."
Howe believes Newcastle deserve more credit for the manner in which they have gone about their business, as he added: "I don't think spending an awful lot of money is the solution anyway. For us, we want to improve the infrastructure of the football club. We want to improve the environment the players are working in and want to improve the team. We need to add little bits and pieces every transfer window and try to get stronger with a longer-term vision."