John Beresford hopes Newcastle United fans get the "dream draw" they deserve in the Champions League later this summer.
The Champions League match day slots are in place in the fixture calendar for the first time in 20 years with August's group stage draw now eagerly anticipated. Former Newcastle defender Beresford knows how the good times roll on Tyneside and was a key member of the team back in 1997/98 as United faced off against Barcelona.
Beresford told Chronicle Live: "All you want now is a fantastic draw. People say to me 'You'll need an easy draw'.
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"Well there is no easy draw in the Champions League. You want the glory draw and visiting the best. I hope we get Inter Milan, Real Madrid or Barcelona, and the fans are swanning round one of Europe's brightest lights. They deserve it. Because of seeding we have an unbelievable chance of that."
Beresford, a club ambassador these days and VIP lounge host, has hailed the work of Eddie Howe and the backroom team and feels that United have arrived at Europe's top table years before most people expected. It took Man City three years to achieve Champions League status but Newcastle have done it in 18 months.
Beresford said: "It is phenomenal to do it in 18 months. It takes us back, myself and Shaka Hislop always talk about it, going back to the glory days. We know how good it tastes. We've been there.
"When the takeover went through, I'd have said four or five years maybe being reasonable for Champions League. To say 18 months, oh my God!"
United managed to achieve their lofty status by finishing in fourth spot in the Premier League. And Beresford feels Newcastle overcame both a rocky patch and injury woe to achieve it.
Beresford said: "When I saw the team just before Christmas and I was going around the lounges, I could see what Eddie had created, my only concern was whether they could stay away from injuries.
"You knew they didn't have the squad like Liverpool or Man United or Arsenal. Look at Arsenal, they didn't have the squad to take it to the next step, injuries killed them in terms of the title.
"For me you just think we had a fantastic group of players. Camaraderie was unbelievable but as a unit they were getting better and better.
"Yes they had a little bit of a wobble but I think that down to the Carabao Cup final, they got a little bit lost in all that. When they came back and kicked on again, I thought they were phenomenal."
