Eddie Howe has insisted that he never even contemplated whether Newcastle United could finish in the top four when drawing up his plans at the start of the season.
Howe made it clear at the start of term that the aims of the squad would remain in-house, but head into game 23 of the campaign knowing they could be holding on to a Champions League slot. With a decisive game against Liverpool coming up, Howe will instead focus on the demands of training this week and is refusing to get ahead of himself.
Howe said: "I didn't really have those thoughts to be honest. It was just about starting the season as well as we could.
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"We spent a lot of time and work during pre-season to build the team and how we wanted to play. "I didn't really think about anything other than trying to win the first game and we've gone from there really."
Newcastle have reverted to a similar pattern of form to the early part of the season when a spate of draws came the way of the Magpies. A run of five ties in the last six outings has allowed Tottenham Hotspur to close the gap and Liverpool can catch up if they win at St James' Park this weekend.
Howe said: "I think that is the challenge whatever moment you're in. Whether you are losing games, drawing games or winning games, it is to be positive and to try not to overreact in any situation.
"Yeah, we're disappointed. We'll try to work on certain things but overall this season we have to be very positive about what we've done."
Regardless of any negativity, Howe's side are also unbeaten in 17 matches and equalled a club record at the weekend. Howe said it was no mean feat: "No, not in this league (it is no mean feat). "You can very quickly come unstuck if you don't remain positive in our moment.
"The fixture list and Bournemouth will feel the same. It never gets any easier at this level. Away from home, we'll take the point. We wanted three but we'll take the point and try to be very positive about next week."
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