Eddie Howe now pinning hopes for this season on upcoming games against Barcelona
Newcastle United's season is hanging by a thread after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last night.
The Magpies started the game very strongly, taking a deserved lead after 18 minutes, but then, instead of pressing home the advantage, sat back and allowed Man City's much-changed side to regroup and begin their domination.
Bowing out of the second domestic cup competition at the hands of the same opposition was certainly tough, but it wouldn't have been too bad if we still had something to play for.
All that Newcastle have now is the Champions League, and next up in that competition is a two-legged tie with Barcelona.
Eddie Howe is pinning his hopes for Newcastle United on Champions League glory
Newcastle's league position isn't exactly encouraging, and any hopes of European qualification through that method look to have slipped away already, so the games against Barcelona are huge. However, we didn't really want to hear Eddie Howe admitting as much to TNT Sports last night.
"Tuesday is really now our season. It's in the hands of the next two games in the Champions League"
Obviously, the Champions League is our last chance to hoist a trophy at this stage of the campaign, but surely our season is still putting a run of wins together in the Premier League.
What should Newcastle's focus be now?
The Champions League doesn't feel like a realistic goal
No team has really managed to be consistent in the league this season, which has left much of the table wide open. With a good run, Newcastle could get themselves back into the top half and push for Europe.
That should be our aim now. Of course, it would be amazing to win the Champions League, but really, do we think we're there after this season?
If we manage to see off Barcelona, I will revisit my cynicism, but right now it feels like the Premier League should be our top priority.
