Alan Pardew believes qualifying for the Champions League would be as big for Newcastle as ending their 43-year wait for a trophy.
The Magpies embark upon their latest attempt to end a lengthy silverware drought when they head for Manchester United in the Capital Cup third round tonight.
The Newcastle boss (above) said: “Obviously, we want to win something — you shouldn’t be in the game unless you want to win something.
“Winning for us would be actually qualifying for the Champions League. It would be like winning a trophy. But our fans would like to see a nice big cup, I am sure, and hopefully we can achieve that down the line. We are getting to the stage where there’s a mentality and a quality in the group that could win a competition such as this.
“We have to just try to win every game that we enter and see where our goals are come Christmas when we can really start focusing on what we want to achieve this season.”
Sir Alex Ferguson is set to field youngsters Michael Keane, Scott Wooton and Tyler Blackett at Old Trafford tonight.
LIVERPOOL goalkeeper Brad Jones believes the League Cup holds less significance this season than when the club won it in February.
Jones said: “Last year was good for the club to win a trophy. This year is a little bit different in terms of where the club want to go and what we want to do. But it is important for whoever goes out to put on a show and hopefully get a result.”
