More money, more evidence player ambitions can be fulfilled and more clout in the transfer market - this is what a top-five finish means

Champions League football secured on a day with much more drama for Newcastle than anybody at St James' Park would have bargained for. Their fate, which had been in their own hands, was ultimately decided 150 miles north west at Old Trafford, where Aston Villa lost to Manchester United.

It was tense, unexpected and completely Newcastle United - but Eddie Howe and Co are Champions League material once again. Telling a Toon fan before the game that Everton will win 1-0 would have sent shockwaves reverberating around Tyneside.