TalkSPORT host Alan Brazil gives revised view on where Newcastle United can finish next season

Former Scotland and Ipswich star Alan Brazil has hailed the job of Eddie Howe after admitting he thought that Newcastle United were destined for a return to the Championship this season. The talkSPORT pundit says that one-time England managerial candidate Howe has done a sensational job after hauling Newcastle from the relegation zone to safety.

Brazil does not see Newcastle getting sucked into the scrap at the bottom again, regardless what happens this weekend at Tottenham Hotspur, and says that United have escaped the "nightmare scenario" after the new owners walked into a club on its knees back in October.

Brazil will join former Arsenal and Middlesbrough star Ray Parlour on Tyneside in June at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House as TalkSPORT hits the road over the summer months. For Brazil, it is a trip he is looking forward to and he knows he will be heading to a city re-energised by the takeover.

Brazil told Chronicle Live : "Newcastle reminds me of Glasgow with Celtic and Rangers, I know it's a one city team, but what passion. What has happened up there is incredible.

"I remember watching the first few games when the new owners came in and maybe they were sitting there and probably thinking: 'What have we got into here'. It was a nightmare scenario for them, wasn't it? Suddenly the manager is now getting his message across.

"It is amazing what self-belief does for players. Once you start believing you are still a good player and you are in a good side, you know you can escape. It is unbelievable what has happened up there. "So I think Eddie Howe should be proud of himself.

"Newcastle will stay up - we know that now. But at one stage I had my doubts, Leeds and Everton are now thinking: 'Crikey!' Newcastle are