Murphy grabs early double as Newcastle pile misery on Leicester

LONDON – The joy of Newcastle United’s first domestic cup trophy for 70 years – and the unbridled euphoria of an open-top bus parade through the streets of the city – could have distracted Eddie Howe’s team from their pursuit of Champions League qualification.

But successive English Premier League wins since that League Cup final victory over Liverpool on March 16, the latest a 3-0 cruise at Leicester City, means they remain bang on course for a return to Europe’s top competition.

Two early goals by Jacob Murphy and another for Harvey Barnes before half-time on April 7 made it a comfortable night for the Magpies, who moved above Manchester City into fifth place.

They are level on 53 points with fourth-placed Chelsea and have a game in hand.

Fifth place will almost certainly be enough to secure a place in the Champions League next season after strong performances by English clubs in continental competition.

“There was a worry when we won the cup that we’d drop. Just a subconscious feeling that you’ve achieved a massive high and there’s a fall from that,” Howe said.

“The challenge for the group was can you go again and they’ve done that well. (A top-four finish) will mean a great deal to us. But it’s difficult to think too far ahead and think of the implications.

“We need to do our job and that is to win games.”

Newcastle host Manchester United at the weekend before another home game against Crystal Palace on April 16. They then go to top-four rivals Aston Villa.

“We’re playing with confidence but we’re going to need it because the next three games are tough,” Howe added.

“It’s going to hot up. The next week for us is a big week. We have three really tough games and