Newcastle United's Champions League mission is in their own hands when it comes to the number crunching - keep winning and that coveted place in the top four will be theirs.
The crisis that is looming over Tottenham Hotspur has been nothing but a benefit to Newcastle in recent weeks as the London club failed to take full advantage of Newcastle's own sticky patch in the top-flight. And while Spurs may be sitting in fourth place they dropped two massive points at Southampton last weekend to reduce the gap to just two points.
After the capitulation at St Mary's came the meltdown from Antonio Conte who essentially invited Daniel Levy to sack him if he felt he could find a better manager. In the week that has followed Conte still remains in charge but the unexpected availability of Julian Nagelsmann has changed things in the last couple of days.
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The highly-rated German boss left Bayern Munich and reports in the capital suggest that Spurs have been in touch about his services. Mauricio Pochettino is another to be strongly linked with Tottenham.
Both out of work managers are said to be keen on the job but time is against Spurs. Nagelsmann is said to want time to reflect before taking on his next job according to Sky Sports.
Leaving Conte in charge means Spurs, who travel to Everton a week on Monday, means that Levy is just another bad result away from another toxic Press conference. His other option is to part company with Conte and put Ryan Mason in charge for the remainder of the season.
Whether Mason is the man who can lead Spurs into the top four is up for debate. Spurs might need nine wins from their last 10 fixtures to finish ahead of Newcastle and win on Tyneside when the two clash for the big one next month.
Newcastle can only stay calm, keep winning and see what happens with Spurs. The situation is very much in their hands and only the arrival of a saviour like Poch or Nagelsmann in the next week or so would make most Newcastle fans stand up and take serious note.
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