Antonio Conte claims Tottenham Hotspur are in a similar playing field to Newcastle United rather than the top four.
Speaking to BeIN Sport, Conte said that his side need to fight the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle and Brighton as things stand.
The Italian has been vocal about the lack of quality in his side since arriving earlier this season, but the claim that his side need to be battling with sides in the lower half of the table is perplexing.
Newcastle United evening headlines: Kell Watts' new deal & Joey Barton raves about Elliot Anderson
Tottenham have lost their last three Premier League games and have almost said goodbye to their Champions League aspirations, but are still within a shout of playing European football next season.
Conte said: “The quality in this league is very high.
“There is not much space for teams to become the top teams, every single teams wants to improve. Not only Tottenham, but Arsenal, Leicester and West Ham.
“Even Aston Villa, Newcastle, teams like Brighton, like Wolverhampton. They want to improve and in this moment, we have to fight with these. But not with the top teams – but we need to have the desire to fight.”
The Magpies have moved out of the relegation zone with three successive wins and are hoping to put more distance between themselves and the drop zone, but face a tough run of fixtures.
Eddie Howe's side are set to face Spurs at the beginning of April and will be hoping they're still not looking over their shoulder ahead of their trip to the capital.