Gary Neville believes experience may be Newcastle United's downfall as they battle for a place in the Champions League for next season.
With 12 games remaining in the Premier League, Eddie Howe's side are fifth, but are just two points off Tottenham Hotspur in fourth with two games in hand.
Newcastle are firmly in the driving seat to finish in the top four come the end of the season, but the Magpies have not played in Europe's elite competition since the 2003-04 campaign when Partizan Belgrade dumped them out in the third qualifying round.
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Liverpool are now five points adrift of Howe's side and face an uphill battle to secure a Champions League spot with Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in their next three fixtures.
Former Manchester United right-back Neville admitted he is 'stunned' to see Newcastle flying high so quickly after their Saudi takeover.
He told Sky Sports after the Nottingham Forest win: “It’s just whether they (Newcastle) have that experience when you go into the last five or six matches.
“Tottenham have got that, Liverpool have got that, Manchester United have got that. That’s the only thing I would say is they've got to prove over these next 10 games - but they've got a great chance. They’re having an outstanding season.
“If they finish fifth or sixth we'll still be saying that was a fantastic season. I'm absolutely stunned as to the fact where they are at this moment in time on that journey. I thought they would be sort of seventh or eighth at the start of the season.”
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