The race for Champions League qualification is heating up, and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe believes it’s going to be a fight right until the very last day.

After watching his side secure a much-needed win against Ipswich, Howe admitted that the battle for the top spots is tighter than ever.

“When you’re running out of games as we are, you want to get back into the positions that you want to be in,” Howe said after the match. “We know how tight it is, we know the quality of clubs we’re competing against, but all we can do is try to win our games, and it was a big step forward today.”

Newcastle had been under pressure following a dip in form, but they showed strong character to bounce back. With just four games left, Howe is urging his players to stay consistent and to treat every match like a final.

“It will go down to the wire,” he added. “The important thing today was that we bounced back from last week. We have been very consistent and now we have four huge games.”

Pressure building across the top race

Newcastle aren’t the only ones feeling the heat. Several clubs are tightly packed around the Champions League spots, with just a few points separating them.

Every win feels like gold right now, and every slip-up could be costly.

Howe’s team have shown they can handle pressure, but with so much at stake and so many teams fighting for the same goal, the margin for error is smaller than ever.

Newcastle will need to carry this momentum into their final four games if they are to secure a return to Europe’s biggest stage.

The message from Howe is clear: stay sharp, stay together, and believe until the very end.