Jason Cundy believes Newcastle United's celebrations after confirming their place in the Champions League proves they are not a 'big club' and the fanbase is 'used to failure'. The Magpies sealed a top-four finish with a match to spare with a goalless home draw with Leicester City on Monday night.
It means Newcastle will return to the Champions League after a two-decade absence, with a run to the Europa League quarter-finals in 2013 the club's last continental campaign. Eddie Howe has overseen a drastic transformation on Tyneside, with a memorable first full season in charge also seeing the Magpies reach their first domestic final in 24 years.
Celebrations inevitably ensured after the full-time whistle at St James' Park despite the frustrating result, with Newcastle withstanding Liverpool's late rally to hold on to a top-four spot. However, talkSPORT pundit Cundy has used this reaction as evidence in the familiar argument over whether United are a 'big club' or not.
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Cundy told the radio station: "They are a club that are used to failure, this is why they are celebrating in the way they are. They're a football club, they think they're a big football club and they're not."
When challenged by fellow host Jamie O'Hara, Cundy added: "In the north of England, they're a massive football club. How do you explain that? They've not won anything for 60 years...60 years!
"This is a football club going places, I don't doubt that. They've got the potential to be enormous, but they're not."
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