Cardiff’s failure to beat Liverpool on Sunday ensured that Newcastle have avoided relegation once again.
The Magpies have picked up some vital points over the past two weeks, achieving back-to-back wins against Leicester and Southampton.
But while Saturday’s win saw us eclipse the elusive 40 point mark, our role in this season’s relegation battle isn’t over yet.
Relegation still a worry for our next opponents
Brighton were promoted to the Premier League in the same season as us, but their top flight status is looking precarious.
The Seagulls almost picked up a vital point against Tottenham on Tuesday night. They defended valiantly only for a late Christian Eriksen strike to give Spurs victory.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
Going into the final three games of the season, Chris Hughton’s side are three points above 18th-place Cardiff, as well as having a significantly stronger goal difference.
But Saturday could be where the relegation battle is won and lost. Before we face Brighton at the Amex, Cardiff head to already relegated Fulham.
If Neil Warnock’s side can pick up a win, they’ll be level with Brighton. That will put huge pressure on them to get a result against us.
Likewise, if Cardiff fail to pick up any points then Brighton could effectively relegate them with a win against the Magpies.
Our Premier League safety is confirmed, but we are still going to have a big say on who goes down. While some players might think our job is done, we owe it to the integrity of the league to give Brighton all we’ve got and try pick up another three points.
Rafa Benitez won’t make wholesale changes despite achieving safety.
He won’t be interested in what a result would mean for Brighton or Cardiff. He’ll simply be trying to add another three points to an already impressive tally.