Newcastle United manager, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Pardew admitted that his side may end up short of qualifying for the Champions League next season, following their 2-0 home defeat against league leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
As the things stand currently, the Toon find themselves at the fifth place and lag behind the fourth-ranked Tottenham Hotspur by a single point. They will go into their final game of the season against Everton at Goodison Park at the weekend, knowing that
a win for their top-four rivals will quash their dream of bringing Champions League football at Tyneside next season.
Nevertheless, the 50-year old viewed the whole season as a successful one for the Magpies, and felt that the players have restored the dignity of the club in English football, after being relegated from the top division at the end of the 2008/2009 season.
He pointed out that even the fans acknowledged their phenomenal run in the Premier League, and the fact that they stayed behind in the stadium even after their defeat against City was a manifestation of that.
He told the reporters, “There has probably been a few times when that has happened, but for them to all stay behind and pay their respects as we did to them wasn’t shallow.”
Talking about the top-four race which has gone down the wire, the Englishman admitted that everything is not in their hands, as wins for Spurs and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 in their respective last games will help them finish ahead of the Magpies. However, he highlighted
the fact that both the London teams will be under more pressure, as they will need to secure the third place in order to guarantee their position in the elite European competition next season.
He added, “They have to win in case Spurs finish above us. That could be significant. For our part there is a simple equation. We have to win at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Everton-c13019, which might not be enough.”
Newcastle’s defeat against City brought the Eastlanders on the verge of their first English league title in almost 44 years. Pardew conceded that they were by far the best team that he had faced this season. However, he felt that his side were neck and neck
with the league leaders for a major portion of the game and were denied by a moment of brilliance from Yaya Toure.
“We were stopping them doing what they do well, they were stopping us doing what we do well and one goal was always going to change the face of the game, which it did.”
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