We know things have been tough this summer but are the BBC serious with this prediction?

The Premier League season is upon us and that means that journalists and pundits are all giving their predictions for who will finish where in the league.

Yesterday we covered Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist's thoughts which saw Stelling put Newcastle in fourth but McCoist predicting that we'll miss out on the top four.

One thing that they both agreed on, however, was that the Magpies would be in the mix for the Champions League spots.

A view clearly not shared by the BBC's chief football writer Phil McNulty.

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Phil McNulty is Captain Negativity

Before writing this I had to do a quick cursory check to make sure McNulty wasn't a mackem because his prediction seems absolutely outrageous. The BBC man has Newcastle finishing ninth at the end of the season, two places below last year's position after a battle with suspensions, injuries and extra fixtures. Here's how he came to his conclusion.

"Strange summer at Newcastle United, with churn backstage caused by the departure of Amanda Staveley from the boardroom and the arrival of Paul Mitchell as sporting director following Dan Ashworth's move to Manchester United.

"The European football Newcastle thought they had was taken away by Manchester United's FA Cup final win over Manchester City, while profit and sustainability rules (PSR) meant the reluctant sales of Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton respectively.

"And then came the revelation that the departure of last season's star man and England winger Anthony Gordon to Liverpool had even been discussed to raise funds until other players left.

"Throw in the speculation linking manager Eddie Howe with England and it has hardly been plain sailing on Tyneside.

"However, if Newcastle can get a deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, arguably England's best player at Euro 2024, over the line then the club and the Toon Army will feel a lot better about themselves.

"Top 10 but still some uncertainty at Newcastle United."

Would you be happy with a fifth place finish?

The BBC asked Newcastle fan and Queen of True Faith, Charlotte Robson for her view too and Robson has us finishing fifth, which is a lot better than ninth but still feels like we're being sold short.

That being said, I wouldn't be too disappointed with fifth, it's a step in the right direction and after a summer that hasn't exactly seen us vastly improve, it's all about the little steps forward we can take with a similar squad to last season.

Should Newcastle finally bring in Marc Guehi and a right winger then I think we're looking at a top-four finish.