We’re on fantastic run but we won’t be safe until we hit 40-point mark, says Magpies’ winger Ritchie
NEWCASTLE winger Matt Ritchie insists Newcastle are not safe until they reach the 40-point mark.
Goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Perez secured a vital 2-1 win at Leicester as Newcastle broke into the top half of the table.
With just six games left, the Magpies are 10 points clear of the drop zone on a healthy 38 points.
Safety is virtually assured and Newcastle are just three points behind ninth-placed Everton - but Ritchie insists they cannot breathe easily until they hit the 40-point mark.
He said: “We need to get to 40 points – we are not safe yet.
“We need to perform well and with good performances – as you have seen – come results.
“We are on a fantastic run at the moment and I think it has gone under the radar a little bit – I think we have only been beaten by (Manchester) City twice and Liverpool in our last 13 or 14 games.
“I think we have been really solid and scored at good times. Hopefully we can continue to win games and now – instead of looking over our shoulder as everyone in the bottom half has been doing for the last six months or so – we can hopefully start trying to catch one or two in front of us.
“That will be the aim now because we want to have a positive mentality about the group but first things first – we need to keep performing at a high level and hopefully with that points will come.”
The Magpies have been in stunning form in 2018 and sit fifth in the form table since the turn of the year.
In that time Rafa Benitez’s side has only lost to Manchester City and Liverpool and has won its last three games on the spin.
That is in stark contrast to the run the team embarked on through November and December as United went nine games without victory.
However, Ritchie feels performance levels have not changed too drastically since then.
“I don’t think a lot has changed, really,” added the Scotland international.
“I think we have been a bit more clinical in front of goal but when you look at the little blip we had, we did not really get absolutely dominated by anyone – there was only one goal in a lot of the games and at the start of the season it was similar. “The Premier League is so tight. “When you look at our season throughout, and if you really analyse it, our first ten or 11 games we did really well and we were on the right side of 1-0s.
“Then it might have been Bournemouth at home where we were on the wrong end of a 1-0 and we went on a bit of a blip from there, being beaten by one or dropping points from leading positions.
“However, as I say, over the last 14 games we have really kicked on and it is through no fluke – it is through hard work, dedication and attention to detail.”