Howe’s side climbed to fourth place after Callum Wilson’s brace and goals from Joelinton and Miguel Almiron demolished a woeful Villa side at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s Saudi-backed ownership group made it their goal to win major trophies after buying the club from Mike Ashley and the early returns on their investment are promising.

The Magpies have lost just one of their 12 league games this season thanks to Howe’s astute management and the financial backing of the club’s owners.

But asked if Newcastle should now be considered top four contenders, Howe poured cold water on the growing anticipation on Tyneside.

“That’s an outrageous question,” Howe said. We’re just happy where we are. We’re trying to win every game. I’ll let you write the headlines.”

Click here for full story

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.