JONJO SHELVEY admits it will be a “complete failure” if Newcastle United’s new-look team does not win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking this season.

With Rafael Benitez having spent more than £55m since the end of last season, Newcastle are the biggest-spending Championship club in history, even though they still managed to record a profit of more than £30m as a result of their summer dealing.

Five members of the side that started the club’s last league game at Brighton are full internationals, and despite their status in the second tier, Newcastle still had 15 players involved in international action over the course of the last two weeks.

They remain firm favourites to win the Championship title despite losing two of their opening five matches, and with tomorrow’s trip to Derby County pitting them against one of their likely promotion rivals, Shelvey accepts something will have gone drastically wrong if the Magpies are not playing in the top-flight again next season.

“In my personal opinion, if we don’t go up, it’s a complete failure,” said Shelvey, who won six full England caps prior to moving to Newcastle in January. “When you look around at the dressing room and see the players we’ve got, we’ll have failed if we don’t get promoted.

“There are people here who have been there and done it, and there’s a lot of Premier League players in that changing room. Some of them have taken a step down to play in the Championship for Newcastle, so if we don’t go up, it’s a complete failure.”

As well as featuring Shelvey, tomorrow’s starting line-up could also include the likes of Jack Colback, Matt Ritchie, Ayoze Perez, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dwight Gayle, players who boast extensive Premier League experience.

Throw in the likes of Jamaal Lascelles, Grant Hanley and Mo Diame, players with a proven track record in the Championship, and you have the nucleus of a squad that should be a cut above most other sides in the second tier.

That creates opportunity, but it also bring pressure, with most neutrals, and a fair number of Newcastle supporters, expecting the club to win every game they appear in this season.

Last month, when the Magpies travelled to Bristol City, it was as though they were appearing in a cup final, such was the level of interest that saw Ashton Gate attract its biggest crowd for more than 25 years.

Rotherham United have already announced the New York Stadium is sold out for Newcastle’s visit at the start of next month, but Shelvey claims the weight of expectation is something that should be embraced rather than avoided.

“I think everywhere we go, we’ll be playing at grounds that are sold out,” he said. “But you’re playing for Newcastle United, you need to deal with that expectation.

“If you can’t deal with that, you shouldn’t be playing for Newcastle. That’s just the way it’s going to be this year. You’ve got to either accept it and embrace it, or hold your hands up and admit you can’t deal with it and it’s not for you.”

Shelvey is part of a central-midfield unit that is especially strong, with Colback, Diame and Isaac Hayden all competing for a place in the starting line-up, and Cheick Tiote still hovering in the background after a succession of summer moves fell through.

Plenty of big-name players moved on this summer, and with the transfer window having closed last Wednesday, there is a sense of relief that the upheaval that accompanied last season’s relegation is finally at an end.

“It’s certainly nice that there aren’t any more midfielders coming in,” joked Shelvey. “You do read things, even now, and wonder what’s going to happen next.

“There’s always rumours about people coming in, but we know nothing more can happen now and that’s good. It’s just nice that everything is finally settled now. The squad is there, and the manager has got the squad he wants to fight for this league with. We’re all just pulling in one direction now.

“We knew things would be in the pipeline this summer, and they were. Moussa (Sissoko) was still here right up the final week, and to be fair to him, he was training really well. He had a great attitude, but you could tell he wanted to leave and he came out and said that.

“All the best to him. Apart from that though, everyone has been spot on, and we’ve got a really good squad now. We’ve got 24 or 25 top-class players, so it’s going to be a tough one for the manager to leave people out. There’ll be a few unhappy people, but that’s part and parcel of football. You just have to deal with it.”

Newcastle are set to face a Derby side lacking Will Hughes and Abdoul Camara when they line up at the IPro Stadium tomorrow. Hughes suffered a head injury while on international duty with England Under-21s, while Camara damaged his hamstring in the closing stages of Derby’s defeat at Burton.