Champions League football was not even on the agenda for Newcastle United at the start of the season, Eddie Howe revealed on Sky Sports in the aftermath of a crucial, goalless draw against Leicester at St. James’ Park.The Magpies will be in Europe’s premier competition for the first time since 2002. When Howe took the helm on 8 November 2021, Newcastle were 19th in the Premier League table.”[Our expectation this term] certainly wasn’t top four,” Howe told Sky Sports.Alan’s letter to Eddie in the dawn of Magpies’ return to UCL: ‘Thank you, for all of it'”I think you always hope, you always believe, and you have to dream.”But we didn’t feel that we were ready for that. After last season’s battle with relegation, it was whether we could consolidate and become a better team.”To not have that flirtation with relegation and try to give it a go, it’s just been incredible.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7277210##On 7 October 2021, Newcastle, struggling in the Premier League relegation zone, were controversially taken over in a Saudi Arabia-backed £305m deal.Thirteen days later, manager Steve Bruce was sacked. By December, and with Howe now in charge, the Magpies had only seven points from 14 matches.”If you told us two years ago this was going to happen, we wouldn’t have believed you,” Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff told Sky Sports.The Saudis are in Europe – Newcastle qualifies for the Champions League!This campaign, they have lost just five league matches, bringing Champions League football back to St James’ Park for the first time in 20 years.”We’ve beaten Juventus here 1-0 [in the Champions League], you see it on old DVDs,” added Longstaff. “To be a part of this, I’m buzzing. It’s going to be special.”Arsenal, Man Utd and Newcastle fight for mesmerising Ghanaian internationalHowe was quick to play down any talk about big spending in the transfer market.He said: “There is a very small pool of players to look at. We have to recruit wisely, as we have done in every transfer window to date. This will be our toughest one.”We’ll think about next season during the summer. We don’t want to go far away from what we’ve done. We are realistic to know there will be more games and that’s a challenge.”Whenever you achieve something, you’re not just happy to participate. You want to succeed and want success. I want success massively for this football club. We’ll enjoy tonight, but we want to bring silverware here if we can in the future.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7277264##Newcastle face Chelsea on the last day of the season on Sunday. A win would take them to 73 points, which would be their highest Premier League total since 1996.They have scored 67 goals already this season, their most in a top-flight campaign since 2002.⚫️⚪️ Newcastle United have qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time since the 2002/03 season.⚽️ Top scorers;🏴 Wilson (18)🇵🇾 Almiron (11)🇸🇪 Isak (10)🎯 Top Assister;🏴 Trippier (7)🏴 Willock (6)🇧🇷 Guimaraes (5)Congratulations 🥳 pic.twitter.com/JUt62Z5FjA— Sholy Nation Sports (@Sholynationsp) May 22, 2023 “These people love football, this town is solely about football,” midfielder Nolberto Solano, who played in Newcastle’s last Champions League match – a 2-0 loss away to Barcelona – told Sky Sports.”It hasn’t been the best times, but everyone must be so proud.”
