Newcastle United cult hero Nikos Dabizas believes that even if the Magpies end up in the Europa League next season it should still be classed as "a massive achievement" for Eddie Howe's squad.
United will compete for a Champions League slot in the final 12 matches of the season with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United all in the mix. But Dabizas feels that Howe's men have already "over-achieved" in the current campaign and in a season that many would have deemed a mid-table finish as a good year after a decade-long brush with relegation, the Greek hero feels that the club's rebuild is starting to pay off.
With sporting director Dan Ashworth now in place as well as some tweaks in the recruitment department, Dabizas is happy to see the Magpies flourishing again. In an exclusive chat with Chronicle Live he has been discussing how the remainder of the season could unfold.
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Dabizas told Chronicle Live: "If you asked anybody at the start of the season what their expectations were, 10 from 10 people would say things will be better than last season. But I think the club have actually over-achieved their own expectations.
"Not from a fan point of view, from the club's point of view. This is a massive testament to the coaching and the recruitment staff, the whole football department really.
"I think it is a matter of doing the right things in the right order. Football will pay you back once you invest in a football sense and do the right things, in the right order.
"When you appoint a sporting director, improve the recruitment and improve the professionalism. When you appoint the right people for the right roles, things get better.
"For me this season though the club has over-achieved no matter what happens now and what the final table will show. Playing in a Carabao Cup final and having the best defensive record in the Premier League, there are a lot of positives."
Newcastle have an advantage over Spurs going into the run-in with two games in hand over the London club and could actually climb into the top four on Sunday if they beat Manchester United. Although, even if Howe's team missed out on the top four they are in a good position to at least take a Europa League place while a Europa Conference League slot is also likely to be on offer outside the top five.
The former Toon centre-back said: "The most important thing now is managing the expectations. The psychological point must be assessed and this is the first thing for me.
"I think the team in general were never one of the favourites to qualify for the Champions League or even the top six. If there is a reward at the end of the season then that's the icing on the cake.
"Don't forget 14 months ago it was a different story and step by step the club is improving. Of course, you have to compete now.
"It's competing at a different level. Qualifying for Europe with clubs that have been there for ages while our club was missing.
"So we are at a different level now and it is a different task. For me, now the most important thing is the psychological aspect and how you now manage the last 12 games of the season knowing you have that chance of success which would be qualifying for Europe, it's a massive task.
"If this is the case in the last part of the season then the club have already shown as an organisation in general that they have been very balanced, from the head coach to the players and the staff as well. "
This season's Europa League will see the likes of Man United, Juventus and Roma battling it out to win the trophy and Dabizas feels that the competition has improved vastly since Newcastle's last campaign in Continental competition.
Dabizas went on: "The financial aspect of any type of success is there. But the system works differently to years gone by.
"A lot of strong clubs with tradition are in the Europa League. It is usually clubs that are playing in the Champions League so the level of the competition has improved.
"It is more difficult now to even compete in the Europa League so for me the level has been different going upwards, and if the club finishes in the Europa League that would be a massive achievement."
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