Newcastle United have already been handed odds of 11/10 to finish in the Champions League places again in 2023/24.
This week Bet Victor also handed out odds of Newcastle winning the title that were better than Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Indeed, the Magpies are 14/1 to win the Premier League next season just 18 months after the takeover and without even making a summer signing yet.
With talk swirling round of a great follow up season, it's something that head coach Eddie Howe will address in the early days of pre-season. Howe knows he has a good honest group and nobody will be getting carried away with themselves.
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But the Toon boss, who will start work in the first week in July for pre-season, has made it clear what the mentality must be. Howe wants his players to embrace the Champions League challenge but he will keep his feet on the ground.
Even at the end of last season, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said that a top six finish would still represent progress for Newcastle on the back of their top four achievement. Yet Howe seemed to be one step ahead of pundits last month.
Howe's message at the end of the season was simple, before heading off for his holidays, he said: "We start with zero next season, so that's a healthy way to look at it.
"We have to prove ourselves all over again. "If we can add one or two players that can make the difference in the transfer market that would be good news."
There's no doubt that Chelsea will be trying to hit back after a bottom half season with Mauricio Pochettino now in charge. Spurs are already jostling with Newcastle on some transfer targets and trying to retain Harry Kane as life under Ange Postecoglou gets under way.
But the bookies already have Man City as favourites for the title next season at 1/2 while they feel Arsenal (8/1), Liverpool (8/1) and Man United (10/1) will sew up the other places.
That's something that Howe might even use in his psychology with Toon players but he knows that Newcastle simply can't dine out what they achieved last term. The three-game weeks in the first half of the season, with Champions League and Carabao Cup commitments to juggle, will certainly be a factor.
However, Howe's assessment on life at Newcastle has so far been spot on and he has dealt with the expectation levels fantastically. The 2023/24 campaign will be another challenge for Howe and is backroom staff but they have already demonstrated their calibre since taking over in 2021.
