McAvennie says Burnley game is ‘last chance’ for Newcastle players’ future

Newcastle United travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon and the Magpies can finish 10th in the table if results go their way – 12th-placed Newcastle (46 points) need to beat the Clarets, 10th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion (48 points) need to lose to West Ham and 11th-placed Brentford (46 points) need to lose or draw at Leeds United.

Burnley would secure their Premier League survival with a win, but Newcastle don’t have anything as important on the line, so claims have been made that the Magpies will be a walkover. Frank McAvennie doesn’t believe that’s fair, however, as he says Eddie Howe will still be making decisions on players’ futures.

He told Football Insider: “They are getting ready for a big summer and I think Eddie Howe still needs to make his mind up on some of those players. This is the last chance these guys have to show they have what it takes to stay at the club. Unfortunately for Burnley, I still think Newcastle are playing for something. They aren’t going to roll over, Howe won’t let them.”

One player McAvennie might be talking about is Matt Targett. The 26-year-old has impressed since arriving on loan from Aston Villa, but he doesn’t have the manager’s backing to join permanently.

Another player could be Ryan Fraser. The 28-year-old has scored two goals with three assists in 27 league games and has fired blanks in his last six, so he must prove he doesn’t need to be upgraded over the summer.

And finally, Miguel Almiron has a difficult task to convince Howe he shouldn’t be replaced after scoring just one goal in 29 league outings, so Sunday’s trip to Burnley could be important for the trio.

In other news, Eddie Howe could offload Karl Darlow if Newcastle sign Dean