Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden says the players want to do more than just beat relegation season after season.

Hayden says their ambitions are higher than the board.

He told the Evening Chronicle: "A club of this stature, the target shouldn't be just to finish above the relegation zone but at the minute that is where we're at.

"We have to deal with that as players, coaching staff and as fans who support the football club but that isn't the ambition in the dressing room.

"From a lot of the players we don't just want to be fighting to beat relegation every season, we want to be as high as possible and getting up towards that top six or top eight positions in the league.

"But it was just a relief [to survive] and get it over the line so we have three games and hopefully we can finish around where we finished last year."