Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew knows fans' expectations have risen since last season.

Pardew is confident they can build on last term's success.

Asked what owner Mike Ashley's targets for the new campaign are, the manager replied with a smile: "Mike's suggestion is we should win it, and with less money, so that's a bit tricky."

He added: "Look, we had a great season - I think our fans are realistic enough to know that we had a fabulous season last year.

"I met a lot of them on my travels on holiday, in the city or whatever, and they were all very pleased with last year.

"People keep telling me that their expectations are going to go through the roof and they are expecting us to improve or get the same.

"I don't see that. I think they are realistic enough to know that until a team breaks into the Champions League, it's very, very difficult to compete with those top four or five clubs.

"Obviously, that's what we are going to try to do, but it's difficult.

"When we consider we finished fifth, the next jump is considerable to get into that top four.

"We got to past Chelsea and Liverpool, which was a fantastic achievement, but we still didn't make the top four."