Four straight wins in all competitions, including a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, have seen the Magpies move up to fifth in the Premier League and six points off Chelsea in second.

Newcastle reached the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 20 years with a fourth-place finish two seasons ago, but Howe insists his side has to keep evolving from the team that excelled during that campaign.

"I'd hope we've moved on from that team," Howe said. "You can never go back in time and replicate what that team was. That team was an outstanding side.

"But you can never go back. It's all about the future. We've signed some new players, the dynamic is slightly different and for me, the evolution of the team always had to be that we wanted to be better with the ball, we wanted to control the game more with the ball."

Despite a great recent run, Howe did not outline top four as the aim for this season, instead wanting to take things game-by-game.

"We're shooting for whatever we can shoot for," the Newcastle boss said.

"We'll take small steps, we'll go game-by-game, but I'm really heartened by how the team is playing."

Having won three successive Premier League games by three or more goals for the first time ever, Newcastle rounds off 2024 by visiting Manchester United on Tuesday (AEDT).