Ameobi expects tough battle

Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi admits matching last season's top-five finish would be the biggest achievement of his career on Tyneside.

The Magpies will head into the new campaign having created a new expectation following their remarkable and largely unheralded surge into the upper reaches of the Premier League.

But Ameobi, who has played Champions League football and suffered the pain of relegation during his time at St James' Park, knows repeating the feat will be a tough challenge.

"It's certainly going to be really difficult to replicate what we did last season. Just look at teams such as Liverpool and Chelsea - I can't see them doing as badly this time in terms of where they finished in the league last season, so we are going to have to raise the bar again.

"If we did manage to do that, for me, it would mean finishing in a European spot again this season. Certainly, as I look back at my career with Newcastle, to do that this time would be our biggest every achievement."