I think the target of reaching the last 16 of the champions league feels very realistic for Newcastle, especially since they haven't been in Europe's highest competition for so long. I think Eddie Howie knows very well what they need in order to survive until that round and go through every match that is there with a win. Maybe it will be his first achievement as a Newcastle coach if he can reach that stage and if he fails to take Newcastle to that stage, he will still be able to try again at another time if he still has the same squad as now. Now Newcastle's focus remains the same, namely maintaining the top 4 in the domestic league and of course bringing this team much better in the champions league, it requires extraordinary energy and mind.
At least for almost 20 years, Newcastle did not have the opportunity to compete in the Champions League and last season managed to qualify for the top 4 in the Premier League which made them have a Champions League ticket so that this golden opportunity was impossible to waste Eddie Howie must have prepared carefully for the Champions League because you can see that last season Newcastle got the top 4 of the Premier League so it is still very likely that Newcastle will also qualify for the top 16 of the 2023/24 Champions League season.
We'll just have to wait and see if Newcastle can really live up to expectations or get knocked out before entering the last 16.