DESPITE slipping four points behind Everton in the Premier League, Jamaal Lascelles thinks Newcastle United can still overturn that lead in the remaining four matches of the season.

Losing 1-0 to the Toffees on Monday brought an end to the Magpies’ four-match winning run, only their second defeat in eight matches.

Newcastle still need a point, they face bottom-placed West Brom on Saturday, to make it mathematically impossible to go down.

The target in the final three weeks of the campaign is to close in on Everton again, with games against the Baggies, Watford, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Lascelles said: “We might have lost but there's no reason why it should dent our confidence at all. We're still in a great position and we're still on the toes of Everton. There's no reason why we can't catch them. We just need to make sure we take care of our next game.

“At the start of the season most people would say we should aim to be safe and we've done that. It's step by step. Now we look upwards and we'll see how high we can finish. We'll set new goals and targets.”

To be in such a lofty position at this stage has heartened supporters, players and Rafael Benitez because there were genuine relegation concerns after a perceived lack of investment in the squad.

Benitez has already started to drop hints to Mike Ashley the squad he has worked wonders with will need investment during the summer in order to take Newcastle to the next level. It remains to be seen how the club’s owner reacts.

One player the Newcastle manager could try to keep longer term is Islam Slimani, although he will need to show more in the remaining games than he has so far to seal a permanent deal.

Leicester City are still looking to recoup a sizeable chunk of the £29m they paid for him but the thigh injury he arrived on loan with prevented him from making a start until Monday’s trip to Goodison Park, where he put the work in without getting much change out of his markers.

Lascelles said: “He's a good player and he settled in really well against Arsenal. He worked hard for us at Everton and they made it hard for us to play and to give him good service. You can't point the finger at anybody because we win as a team and lose as a team.

“We didn't really get the chance to get the ball down and play or get up the pitch. Sometimes you've just got to hold your hands up and say fair play to Everton, because we gave our all.”

Slimani was the only change to the starting line-up made by Benitez on Monday, but the remaining Premier League games open the door to try a few things out.

Lascelles added: “That's up to the gaffer, whatever decision he wants to make, he makes. I'm always going to be disappointed in the defeat. I don't like the fact Everton have beaten us twice this season. But at the same time I'm over the moon with how we've been this year.

“Everton have spent a lot of money and have got some real good players. Monday's game could have gone either way so the same people who were saying we were just a Championship team will see we're now looking up to push on and catch the likes of Everton and Leicester so I'm pleased we can say we're not a Championship team.

“We are safe but all the boys just want us to finish as high as we can. On Monday I thought we put in the same effort and showed the same passion we have been doing in games recently. It was just one of those days.

“Everton didn't have many chances and the chance they had went in. That was the way it panned out and sometimes you've just got to give credit to the opposition because they're a good side.”