Howe urges Newcastle to fulfil expectations

LONDON -Eddie Howe has challenged Newcastle to meet his expectations by qualifying for the Champions League. Howe’s side sit fourth in the Premier League with three games left to secure the top five finish that guarantees a place in Europe’s elite club competition.

Newcastle can take a major step towards that target with a win against fifth-placed Chelsea at St James’ Park on Sunday. The Magpies are ahead of Chelsea only by virtue of goals scored, with Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa also engaged in the scrap for a top five place. Some Newcastle fans might already be satisfied with the season after winning the League Cup final against Liverpool to end the club’s 56-year trophy drought.

However, when asked if that Wembley triumph had lifted the pressure off Newcastle, Howe told reporters: “We feel an expectation, certainly internally, to try to deliver Champions League football.

“It was an expectation that we placed upon ourselves, so I get what you’re trying to say, but I don’t necessarily feel that way internally. Winning the cup final, I think, gave us a freedom and a new-found confidence off the back of achieving that.

That gave us a bounce in the next few games. We elevated our performance off the back of that. But that feels like it was, in football terms, quite a while ago. Now we have to focus on these last three games knowing, for me, just how good the team can be. We have to set our expectations very high.”