Cheick Tiote is hoping Newcastle can push on and compete with the top sides in the Premier League.
Ivorian enforcer hopes to kick on next term
Cheick Tiote is hoping Newcastle can push on and compete with the top sides in the Premier League next season.
The 24-year-old midfielder has had a fine season for the Magpies on their return to the top-flight, having signed from Dutch outfit FC Twente last summer.
He has attracted admiring glances from elsewhere but is keen to remain at St James' Park and help Newcastle progress to the force of old.
"My dream is for next season to play for the top four or five," Tiote said.
"But if we want to compete against top teams like Manchester United, we need to buy some new players, some good players, to be able to do that."
The Ivory Coast international made the headlines when scoring a fantastic equaliser for Newcastle against Arsenal earlier in the year.
Tiote, alongside Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique, have all been linked with moves away from Tyneside but he wants the club to keep hold of their star players.
"You need to keep your big players, the important players in the team like Kevin and Joey," he added.
"We need them to stay and to buy some new players as well so we have a big squad and a strong team for next season."
On Sunday's meeting with Liverpool at Anfield and the prospect of facing former team-mate Andy Carroll, Tiote remarked: "Andy Carroll is a good friend for us and we will be happy to see him if he is playing.
"But the most important thing is that we stay together as a team, and we will see after the game. That's football."
