Newcastle finished in an excellent tenth place last season, but this time around they may struggle.
Martin Dubravka has told Slovakian outlet SME Sport that Newcastle United’s aims are to finish in tenth place, just like the did last season under the guidance of Rafa Benitez.
Dubravka, 29, is currently with the Slovakia squad as they face Denmark on Wednesday evening and he was asked about Newcastle’s difficult start to the Premier League campaign.
Newcastle have picked up just one point from a possible 12, drawing with newly-promoted Cardiff City and losing 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Chelsea in what was a very difficult run of games to start the season.
The former Slavia Prague goalkeeper underlined Newcastle’s tough start as the reason for their current positioning in the bottom three, and is confident his side can reach the heights of last season’s tenth place once again.
“Despite our balance, there are even more positive things, but we have had a hard time playing Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham,” Dubravka said. “We played well, but it was not enough.
“The pre-season goals were to finish as much as 10th place last year, but we did not start the season very well. The aim is to definitely stay in the Premier League and later, in the second part of the season, think of moving up the league. “
Dubravka has performed well between the sticks after Newcastle splashed out £4million to land him on a permanent basis, as he only joined the club on loan last January.
He is in line to win his 12th cap for Slovakia on Wednesday night, as they go up against the likes of Christian Eriksen, Kasper Schmeichel and Simon Kjaer’s Denmark. Slovakia are to only play once during the international break, meaning Dubravka will return after the match.
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