RYAN Taylor is anxious to secure Newcastle United’s Premier League safety for another season before he starts dreaming about Europe.

The Magpies travel to Craven Cottage today with 36 points on the board – four short of the tally which kept Wolverhampton Wanderers up last season.

With fifth place up for grabs so long as the Magpies avoid a third straight defeat in Fulham, most people of a black-and-white persuasion are looking up rather than down.

It is not a lack of ambition on the versatile Taylor’s part – he has one eye on winning the FA Cup – merely the realism which has kept Newcastle grounded during a season which has way exceeded expectations.

The Merseyside said: “We are looking for survival first. Who knows what else we can achieve? In the FA Cup we are in a great position, and hopefully we can get European football for next season.

“We are not a bunch of lads who are going to start saying, ‘we are going to get into Europe’ but who knows, a cup final could be in the offing.

“It is not a case of looking down the table but it is nice to get to that 40-point mark which will leave you safe.

“When you get to that mark you can concentrate on looking up the table and kick on from there.”

While the top four go into the Champions League, fifth gets an automatic Europa League spot, with sixth and/or seventh joining them if the cups go to teams who have already qualified for continental competition.

Newcastle travel to Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the FA Cup a week today.

Manchester City are already out of the competition and either Manchester United or Liverpool will follow them.