Newcastle United pocket £43.6m boost but now face gruelling wait for crack at £4.3m prize

It has been a gruelling season for everyone involved with Newcastle United - and it is still not over.

As the Magpies jump straight on a flight to Australia following their 4-2 win away at Brentford, the players will be put through two more fixtures in the coming days - and the entire group must now wait patiently for next weekend's FA Cup final to see whether their testing season has resulted in a European finish.

Eddie Howe takes this job home with him and watches more games than most. However, the Newcastle boss may well have to miss next Saturday's showdown between Manchester City and Manchester United as the team fly back from Down Under that day.

The winner of the Wembley clash will decide whether Newcastle can have a crack at Europa Conference League football next season and potentially pick up £4.3m for going all the way in the newly-formed continental competition.

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As for right now, Newcastle have definitely banked £43.6m for their Premier League troubles this season, pocketing that prize money for finishing seventh in the top flight. The Magpies are also expected to receive a hefty payout from broadcast revenues.

Howe's side have have been shown live on TV 25 times this term, and based off last season's figures, could land around £150m from that revenue stream alone.

Financial gains aside, the true success of Newcastle's season is now out of their hands and placed firmly in the two Manchester giants. Finishing seventh is a superb achievement given the issues thrown their way this term but not having a European finish to show for it will change how this hellish year is viewed.

After a disappointing Champions League exit, two domestic cup stumbles and a drop off from last season's fourth-place accomplishment, Premier League champions Manchester City must do Newcastle a favour at Wembley next weekend.

There will be major frustration at throwing away sixth position after stumbling against the likes of Brighton and Manchester United in recent days. There will also be disappointment over draws to Luton, Everton and Bournemouth at home, defeat to Nottingham Forest at St James' Park on Boxing Day and plenty of underwhelming defeats on the road earlier in the campaign.

But this season will be remembered for an unfathomable amount of injuries seen on Tyneside. Nick Pope, Joelinton, Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento, Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson, Lewis Miley, Dan Burn, Miguel Almiron and many more left on the sidelines for big chunks of the campaign.

A tilt at the Europa Conference League, is therefore, not to be sniffed at. Should Newcastle get there, they will stand a very good chance of winning the competition. Both West Ham United, who won the tournament, and Aston Villa have done well in it in seasons gone by.

So now we wait. Six more days to see whether Newcastle supporters will be packing their bags for overseas jaunts next season. The success or failure of the 23/24 campaign hangs in the balance for another few days.