Four. Eleven. Twenty-seven. No, those are not last night's lottery numbers - that's how many points Newcastle United finished above Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea respectively last season.
Yet, in truth, Newcastle's coaching staff have long closed the book on a campaign that saw the Magpies qualify for the Champions League and reach a first cup final in 24 years. They know they can't afford to rest on their laurels before the players return to the training ground next week. It is one thing finishing in the top four well ahead of schedule, but staying there? That's an even bigger challenge.
Jurgen Klopp, for one, has already vowed that Liverpool will be a 'contender again'. Ange Postecoglou has warned that you will see a 'completely different' Spurs next season. Mauricio Pochettino has certainly not pitched up at Chelsea to finish in 12th place as Eddie Howe knows only too well.
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"We have to improve quickly," the Newcastle boss told reporters last month. "Other clubs that maybe didn’t have the seasons they wanted will come back fighting."
Those words are already ringing true. The window may have only been open a matter of weeks, but Liverpool are pushing ahead with a move for RB Leipzig talisman Dominik Szoboszlai after signing Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton earlier this month. Chelsea have landed a Leipzig star of their own in Christopher Nkunku while Spurs have sealed permanent deals for James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Dejan Kulusevski.
Maddison and Szoboszlai were players who were both liked by Newcastle, of course. As were Declan Rice and Mason Mount, who are close to joining Arsenal and Manchester United respectively. Yet, for various reasons, whether it was transfer fees, wages, other priorities or the target's personal preference, Newcastle have not bid for the quartet this summer.
Fans may have long grown tired of the mere mention of Financial Fair Play, but it is a huge factor when Newcastle are looking at a small pool of expensive players who can actually improve a side that finished fourth last season. Yes, Newcastle have caught up with some of their rivals on the field but, off it, there is still a colossal gap to bridge. Liverpool, for instance, posted club-record revenues of £594m in their latest set of accounts - more than three times the figure (£180m) Newcastle recorded for the year ending June, 2022.
Newcastle's revenues are increasing - the club have banked more Premier League merit money and TV payments than ever before - but that process takes time. A newly-signed £25m-a-year deal with front of shirt sponsor Sela may be the most lucrative partnership of its kind in the club's history, but that number is still some way off Manchester United et al. As chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone has readily admitted: "We have got a lot of catching up to do."
Yet no one will be panicking at Newcastle. Quite the opposite, in fact. The club are set to announce a marquee signing of their own in Sandro Tonali from AC Milan in the coming days and the Italy international certainly won't be the last new arrival through the door this summer.
There is still so much time left in the window and, despite the flurry of links, genuine top targets have only tended to emerge when negotiations are well down the line. A left-field name who has yet to surface or be tipped for a move to St James' Park cannot be ruled out given how many times it has happened before, whether it was Bruno Guimaraes or Nick Pope.
It brings to mind a comment part-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi made a year ago when one or two supporters fretted after the club had 'only' signed Matt Targett on a permanent deal in the opening weeks of the window. "Patience is a virtue," Ghodoussi tweeted. Sure enough, Newcastle ended up adding Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak to their squad by the close of the window. There are further twists and turns to come yet.
