Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea are in battle field for a top rated player who just return from medical

Fear ye not. There will be no more nightmares. Newcastle United are not football flirts any longer. They mean business and the world had better tune in and get the message.

This generation of Magpies is anything but the fly-by-nights of Alan Pardew who shot to the fifth top in 2012 and immediately fell back to earth.

Pardew was garlanded with a double Manager of the Year award for that unexpected feat – Premier League and League Managers Association – yet the suspicion that it was a one-off fluke was confirmed when having come from 12th the previous season United reverted to 16th after their brief romance. Feted one season, fated the next to quickly return from whence they came and stay there.

By the standard of Pardew’s ‘knighthood’ should Eddie Howe have been similarly honored for a better return of fourth top, Champions League, and a Wembley Cup final? Trouble was Pep did the treble of course!

It can be argued that Newcastle will be confronted by a far greater challenge this coming campaign than when they slipped under the radar on the blind side of all to fourth.

Those wishing to burst the balloon point to the fact that Liverpool has acted decisively in order to return to the high perch which has always been theirs under Jurgen Klopp, Chelsea, guided by Mauricio Pochettino, can never be so wildly erratic again, similarly, Tottenham will have a steadier hand on the tiller and a new-found ambition, and Aston Villa have ominously emerged from a relentless slumber under the dynamic leadership of Unai Emery.

Yes, I follow that theory. Where United were a surprise package who over-achieved they are now the target, a valued scalp, a cup final challenge every game.

Manufacturing another Champions League finish will be tough but bring it on. If United went from 12th to fifth and then 16th a decade ago they will not ride the bucking bronco this time. Maybe the Mags jumped from 11th to fourth last term but there is no chance whatsoever of plunging back to a double-figure finish at the end of the upcoming season.

Unlike Pardew’s mob, this United will continue to improve just like their challengers. The foundations have been put in, the personnel at the wheel are relentlessly steady, and the passion of a previously starved city is awesome. They will drive on those who represent them.

I love the phrase ‘shy bairns get nowt’ and United will not be without ambition. The new regime relishes a challenge. Of course like a juggler, they have to keep four balls in the air at the same time – Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup without dropping one and thereby triggering the lot.

What will be a step forward? Will the top six be accepted as such if Newcastle goes deep into Champions League competition or win a domestic trophy? Definitely, I would say.

Silverware would represent a huge step up the ladder. The end of an embarrassing wait for one-time regular FA Cup winners. Glory nights in Europe coupled with residency in the PL uplands would be equally impressive and confirmation that United is becoming a sustained force.

Being there or there about season upon season is what makes an elite club. Not automatically finishing above what was achieved the previous year. Ending up fourth and then sixth or seventh even without a trophy, then fourth again with a pot would be glorious. This is a club coming from nowhere to somewhere, not Liverpool or Chelsea or Spurs who have consistently lived in rarified air but now trying to scramble back to where they recently were.

They all either won the Champions League or played in a final. We fought relegation season after season.

United are starting from scratch in terms of FFP and convincing foreign stars to sign for them rather than more established clubs of reputation. Euro heavyweights Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester City who they must now compete with have history on their side but despite their massive wealth Paris St Germain have not. The French championship is nowhere near as prestigious as the PL or La Liga crowns.

It is all relative but United are storming the barricades both here and in Europe. It will take time to conquer but it will happen.