Kieran Trippier has vowed that Newcastle United will be successful with a patient approach as the Magpies' star targets a top 10 finish next season.
Newcastle narrowly missed out on a place in the top half by just two points last week following a strong finish to the current campaign. Although Newcastle failed to win any of their opening 14 league games, remarkably, Eddie Howe's side finished with their best points total in eight years.
To put that turnaround into perspective, Newcastle were 19th with just five points when Howe took charge last November. By the end of the season, the black-and-whites were 11th with 49 points after only losing five games in the second half of the campaign.
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The arrival of Trippier, Chris Wood, Bruno Guimaraes, Dan Burn and Matt Targett in January undoubtedly helped, but this transformation was built on the togetherness and work ethic Howe and his staff helped foster in just a few months together. That impressive turnaround has naturally got players and supporters alike excited by what could be possible in Howe's first full season on Tyneside, particularly when Newcastle will make further additions in the summer.
Joelinton, for one, believes Newcastle 'have to fight for the Europa League' and Howe certainly wants his squad to think big and be ambitious moving forward. However, Howe is also conscious of managing expectations when competition will be fierce. Even Aston Villa, who finished below Newcastle in 14th place, have already signed Philippe Coutinho and Boubacar Kamara and agreed a deal for Diego Carlos before the window has opened.
Howe will set in-house targets for his players and the Newcastle boss certainly wants to attack the cups next season after the Magpies were knocked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup at the first time of asking in 2021-22. When it comes to the league, Trippier, who is a key member of Howe's leadership group, hinted at Newcastle's realistic goal.
"Next season, we want to take that next step," Trippier told Premier League Productions. "Of course we do and, then, just keep building year by year.
"When new owners come in, people expect it to just go from there to there . We just need to be patient and keep building. Next season, finish in the top 10 and then keep building. Hopefully, new players do come in to help the team and build the team to get higher up the league.
"It's certainly exciting times from now into the future. There will be a lot of success coming back to this club, that's for sure, but it's about being patient. That's the key."
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