1 week Ago By [email protected] (Ciaran Kelly)
Jason Tindall has warned Newcastle United are 'hungry for more' after the Magpies ended their trophy drought. Newcastle won a major domestic honour for the first time in 70 years after defeating Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final and last month's Wembley triumph felt like just the start. In fact, Newcastle had not long lifted the cup when Yasir Al-Rumayyan vowed 'that's the first and it's not going to be the last' while fellow co-owner Jamie Reuben, similarly, wrote that it would be 'the start of many'.
It has certainly given the coaching staff a taste for more, too. "Of course," Tindall told reporters as the number two faced the media in the absence of ill boss Eddie Howe . "That's what you live for.
That's why you play, coach and manage - for those moments, to be successful and to try and win silverware. "It was a great achievement for the football club, but it doesn't stop there. We're hungry for more and we will do everything in our power to try and achieve that as a football club collectively.
" Tindall already has an eye on the next one because the assistant felt dwelling on what had been a 'great journey' would 'come back and shoot you down very quickly'. Newcastle, after all, still have so much to play for this season - not least a place in the Champions League. Harvey Barnes declared that Newcastle do 'not want the season to finish on a downer' by missing out while team-mate Jacob Murphy added the the Magpies were 'right up for the battle' for the top five.
Even the measured Howe has admitted that returning to Europe's lucrative top table would be a 'game-changer' for the club. There are bound to be twists and turns to come, but Newcastle remain on track following back-to-back wins in the top-flight. With an extra spot up for grabs, on account of English sides' performance in Europe this season, Newcastle currently lie in fifth place and the Magpies also have a game in hand on those sides around them.
Newcastle are, of course, bidding to qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three campaigns - and just a year after Aston Villa followed in the black-and-whites' footsteps. To put Newcastle and Aston Villa' previous top-four finishes into context in a PSR world, where the clubs with the biggest wage bills have traditionally picked up the most points, Leicester City were the only upstart to previously disrupt the so-called big six between 2006 and 2022. However, there has been a fresh shake-up at the top as we approach the run-in.
Nottingham Forest are third, Newcastle are fifth, champions Manchester City are sixth, Manchester United are 13th and Spurs are 14th. Following years of the usual suspects dominating those European places, it no longer feels like a closed shop. "I don't think it is," Tindall added ahead of facing a member of the established order, Manchester United, on Sunday.
"There are so many good teams in the Premier League now as we've seen. It's incredibly tough to win games. "You're always going to get top teams that are going to be there or thereabouts and there are going to be teams who want to try and break into that sort of league and I think we're seeing that now.
Aston Villa are doing really well. Brighton. Fulham.
"Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal are all going to be there still. Everyone is fighting for the same thing, but probably long gone are the days where it was the top two or three teams every season that would be there or thereabouts. I think the competition is really tough and it's getting harder year by year.
" Newcastle are in the middle of a Champions League push and fans can watch the big games with Sky Sports' discounted TV bundle. The Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle is now £35 and includes more than 1,000 live matches each season across the Premier League, EFL and more. £35.
