Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew knows their Euro push is linked to keeping his squad together.

If Pardew manages to lead Newcastle into the Europa League or better, the chance of clinging on to his best players will increase big time.

It will also change his sales pitch for any prospective new signings.

The Toon gaffer said: "Last summer was a rebuild job.

"We did not make the mistake of setting our ambitions or goals too high. I think players look at you and, if they raise an eyebrow, you might be lying to them for the rest of the season.

"They do not want to play for a manager or a club like that. So we were very realistic in our talks about our aims.

"We said we were going to attack the top 10 and hopefully get a top-half finish. As it turns out, with nine games to go we have 47 points, two more than the whole of last year.

"That would have given us a top-10 finish last year and we at that mark already. So the players have stepped up to the plate and now it is a question of where are we going to finish with nine games to go."