Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe makes one thing clear to his players ahead of summer

Howe’s side are 12th in the Premier League table – and two points off 10th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion – ahead of Sunday’s final game of the season against relegation-threatened Burnley.

The fixture follows Monday night’s stunning 2-0 win over Arsenal at St James’s Park, which came after back-to-back defeats to top two Manchester City and Liverpool.

And Howe wants his players to “set a marker” ahead of next season, when he hopes to take the club further up the table.

“We’ve wanted our team to be right for every game, and, I think, I was disappointed with aspects of our performance against Liverpool,” said United’s head coach.

“We caught Manchester City on a really bad day, but the game could’ve been very different.

"I don’t think we’ve backed off our high standards in any way, and I don’t think we can either. I think our standards have to be higher than that, and, as we prepare for next season, we have to set markers down in terms of what we want to be as a team.

"There’s no such thing as a dead game for Newcastle, not even a pre-season friendly in my eyes. We have to be, and we are, very proud to represent the club, but we have to represent it in the right way.”

The club was in the bottom three when Howe took over following a winless start to the season – and he hopes that relegation battles will be a thing of the past.

“I certainly hope so,” said Howe. “There are no guarantees in football, and that’s what makes the game so beautiful, because you never know what’s around the corner.

“We have ambitions to improve, so I hope that we’re not in this position again where we’re fighting through the season.

“But the Premier League is so difficult, the league examines you in lots of different ways. The competition’s fierce, everyone will have different aims and dreams.

“All I can pledge is that I’ll do everything in my power to make sure we come back a stronger team. But there’s no guarantee on anything.”