Newcastle United is on the brink of elimination from the Champions League, and journalist Dean Jones has clarified why this should not affect Eddie Howe’s future at St James’ Park.

Qualifying for European competitions was not an expectation last season when Howe took over a struggling club at the bottom of the Premier League, aiming to avoid relegation. The initial target was not a top-four finish.

Given the challenging group Newcastle faced this season, expecting them to qualify for the knockout rounds might have been overly ambitious. While Howe has earned significant credit for his achievements, owners may be slightly disappointed if elimination occurs.

Jones told GiveMeSport: “I don’t think Eddie Howe is going to be under pressure if Newcastle were just to go out of the Champions League. Their group has been crazy and it’s pretty much the toughest group they could have been landed in.”

Even though there was worries that the Magpies would crash out of the Champions League heading into Tuesday night’s fixture in Paris, the group was closely stacked together.

Newcastle were able to earn a draw, which keeps them in the fight for a second place finish, but it could’ve been all three points if it wasn’t for a very harsh penalty in the final minute of the game – dispatched by Kylian Mbappe.

Just two points separate Paris St-Germain in second and AC Milan in fourth. Newcastle’s final Champions League game is against Milan at St James’ Park. They will need a victory and hope Dortmund can do them a favour by beating PSG.