From the outside looking in, it may appear that Newcastle’s season is as good as over.
That is certainly not the view within the club.
Not only will Eddie Howe be desperate to generate some momentum and finish the campaign on a high – the hierarchy, clearly, expects a strong return from the final seven games of the season.
Newcastle will feel the financial hit of likely missing out on the Champions League, but qualifying for Europe remains a priority target.
It is still a realistic one, too, with Newcastle just four points off seventh place.
Newcastle were fighting on four fronts as recently as last month, but Howe’s side will be afforded more recovery time and more time on the training pitches in the coming weeks.
CEO David Hopkinson maintained “we are not distracting ourselves with speculation about what we may or may not do in the summer”.
However, given the glowing terms chief executive has previously spoken about Howe, who he called a “special” manager in December, it was not exactly a resounding show of faith.