John Barnes expects to see Newcastle climb up the Premier League table due to their new-found momentum. A dramatic U-turn in form has seen the Magpies climb up to 14th in the table after winning five of their last six fixtures.
An eight-game unbeaten run means Eddie Howe’s men now have a seven-point cushion over the bottom three and are in pole position to survive relegation this season. The new regime spent £90million in January to bolster the playing squad, with Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimarães, Matt Targett and Dan Burn joining the Saudi-led revolution on Tyneside.
However, Barnes - who spent two years at St James’ Park between 1997-99 - claims he always backed Newcastle to stay up while paying homage to the club’s supporters. “I always felt Newcastle would have enough to avoid relegation in terms of their players,” Barnes told BonusCodesBets.
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“With the momentum and confidence they’ve got, they should climb up the table. I’m glad because the fans have been fantastic and it’s a great part of the world to play football, but they still have to keep playing with the right attitude rather than thinking the job is done because they’re out of the bottom three. The Premier League can be unforgiving and you can be dragged back in.”
The former Liverpool and England winger also heaped praise on Howe for taking Newcastle from winless relegation certainties to top-half hopefuls.
“(Eddie) Howe is doing a good job under difficult circumstances,” he added. “He had a fantastic January transfer window, which really catapulted them to where they are. Everything is there for Newcastle financially for them to climb the table, so he’s done everything asked of him. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
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