Llambias Won't Consider Relegation As An Option!

"I might be bullish about it, but you have got to have that faith.

"In the next year? I think it would be tough.

"It's taken Aston Villa three seasons to get there. They have done a great job. I would love to be up their like Aston Villa.

"They have got a good team - no better than us - but they are up there, they are competing for that top four and it's fantastic that they are.

"We would love to be in that position once we are settled. We need a little bit more stability on the team side and a little bit more of a solid base, and that's what we want to give them.

"He (Ashley) was hurt by the reaction [to Keegan's departure]. He came into Newcastle United, he bought it for a price.

"People say he didn't due his due diligence, but that's the way Mike does business. He just saw it as where he wanted to be.

"He put £250million into it and will continue to go down that route.

"When he put it up for sale, he wasn't wanted. When you are not wanted somewhere, you think, 'Well hang on, let's walk away, it hasn't worked out and you have got to move on'.

"But come December time, Mike and I sat down and said, 'Enough's enough, let's get it back on track. The team needs to know where it is going, the supporters need to know where they are going', so Mike Ashley is back on board.

"It has gone, we are not for sale."