Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez believes the Toon have potential to establish themselves in the top half of the Premier League.

"I think it is clear that after staying up you have the potential to fight to be in the top ten," Benitez said.

"When you talk about the top 10 people say: 'You are already in the top 10'. I don't know how we will finish but that is not the case. We are very close but there are several teams within a few points.

"When I say top 10 I mean with a guarantee that you will be there and you can challenge for something more important. That for me is the potential for this club."

Newcastle have lost their last four games, including a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham on Wednesday, but they are in the best position of the three promoted clubs.

"It has been a great season," he added. "At the beginning the target was to stay up, I can see a lot of managers saying great season because they are safe. We did it five games ago."