Newcastle within touching distance of Champions League but Eddie Howe remains cautious

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe still refuses to admit the job of Champions League qualification is done, despite the Magpies taking a giant leap toward a top-four Premier League spot with a home victory against sixth-place Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.

Howe’s side is within touching distance of a place of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2003/04 season thanks to a 4-1 win over their fellow high-fliers.

An own goal from Deniz Undav and a Dan Burn header, against his former club, put Newcastle well on the way to victory in the first half before Undav reduced the arrears just after the break. But a late blitz from Callum Wilson and Bruno Guimaraes ensured all three points remained on Tyneside.

With that win, Newcastle moved four points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool, with both teams having two games left to play. It’s fair to say it would take a dramatic swing, with the Magpies losing both of their remaining games — at home to Leicester and away to Chelsea — to even stand a chance of dropping out of the qualification spots from here.

“Yeah (we are close) but it is still so far away,” Howe said of the club’s Champions League chances. “We will enjoy tonight but then turn our focus towards Leicester.

“I think we were just pleased with the performance tonight, to beat a side of their quality. We are not looking too far ahead.”

When asked when he will turn his thoughts to the top four, Howe joked: “When it’s done, I’ll talk about it for fun if you want.

“We were outstanding tonight. In that first period was us at our best. I thought we were relentless. It is very difficult to maintain that for the full game. We tried. I thought we were fantastic in the details. As a