Eddie Howe has challenged his Newcastle players to prove they are not merely a cup team by overcoming their sometimes self-destructive inconsistency and qualifying for the Champions League.

Howe’s side have always been capable of beating anyone on their day – highlighted as they overcame Liverpool at Wembley to lift the Carabao Cup last month – but their capacity for off days threatens the club’s ambition of the top-five finish that would almost certainly secure admission to Europe’s showpiece competition.

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