On the brink

DARK DAYS: Defeat to Middlesbrough tonight could pursh Newcastle into the Championship abyss. The stakes are just as high for Boro manager Gareth Southgate.

DEREK LLAMBIAS was in no doubt. “Relegation is a major fear for us,” the Newcastle United chief executive said. “We have to be ready for the future but realistically I think we’ll stay up.”

That statement was delivered in mid-February, when Newcastle’s plight, though serious, was far from critical. How laughable such nonchalance seems now: just over 10 weeks later, and the Tynesiders are on the brink of the precipice. Defeat at home to Middlesbrough tonight could just shove them over the edge.