Newcastle United manager, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Pardew hailed the performance of his players throughout the ongoing season, which has seen them launch a sustained challenge for a top four finish.
The Magpies currently occupy the fifth place in the league table, and will play their final match on Sunday against Everton at Goodison Park. The Toon will end up short of securing a Champions League berth next season even if they win against the Toffees;
if Tottenham Hotspur and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 go on to win their respective games on the same day.
Nevertheless, the Englishman remained optimistic over his side’s chances and mentioned that their failure to prize out a Champions League place will still reflect a successful season for Newcastle.
He told the reporters, “To actually be competing for it is more than we imagined and to have that opportunity is something that doesn't come along very often, and we want to try to grasp it.”
The Magpies Premier League campaign got off to a flying start, as they suffered their first league defeat of the season on the 19th of November against Manchester City, after building an eleven match unbeaten streak. It was also their best beginning
to the season in almost 17 years.
Newcastle then looked down and out from the top four race after a mid-season slip up, but have since launched an impressive come back. Despite losing to City in their previous game at the Sports Direct Arena, they have now won 7 out of their last 9 league
games. As things stand currently, they are only a point adrift of fourth placed Spurs and 2 behind the Gunners.
However, the 50-year mentioned that the club will not start celebrating their season’s successes just yet, as a top four finish is still up for the grabs.
He continued, “It's been a magnificent achievement by everyone at this football club, and we can't wait for Sunday to unfold.”
Even if Newcastle loses out to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 at the fifth place; a feat that has already earned them a place in the Europa League next term.
And Pardew admitted that his side have managed to exceed the expectations of the owners and the fans.
He added, “I would be foolish if I sat here and said I thought we were going to finish fifth. The board made a good statement - top 10 - I thought that was fair.”
The Englishman also went on to praise the Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and the managing director Derek Llambias for building a solid structure at the club, and felt that they also deserved to be credited for playing an important role in their successes.
“I think they deserve a lot of credit.”
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