There were enough positives in Monday's 1-0 defeat by Leicester to suggest Newcastle can avoid relegation from the Premier League, says Rafael Benitez.

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The Magpies remain in the drop zone, one point from safety, after losing the Spaniard's first game as their manager.
United have nine games remaining, the next of which is at home to relegation-threatened rivals Sunderland.
Benitez, who replaced the sacked Steve McClaren on Friday, said: "With this commitment on the pitch we can do it."
Newcastle began brightly against the league leaders, but fell behind to a Shinji Okazaki overhead kick and were unable to equalise despite both Ayoze Perez and Moussa Sissoko going close.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss added: "We started really well, but the reaction of the team in the second half was pleasing because you could see the commitment of the players and we were trying to win.
"When you are in this position, it's important to create and I think we'll take our chances next time."
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Newcastle's next two games, against fellow strugglers Sunderland and Norwich, are central to their survival hopes.
Sam Allardyce's Sunderland, who visit St James' Park on Sunday, are a point better off but clear of the relegation zone on goal difference only.
Benitez said: "We have to improve in both areas and that is our job now.
"We have one full week and we need to improve these little things. It's a question of having a bit of luck, but we have to think about the positives and we are creating chances.
"We know our next game against Sunderland will be important for everyone, but I have a feeling the fans are really good and they are the number 12 for the next game."
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose team are five points clear at the top of the league, supported Benitez's optimism.
"Their players showed Rafa their attitude and the Newcastle players are very good," said the Italian. "I am sure that they will be safe."


A man stabbed to death near a London Tube station could have been the victim of a random attack, the Met has said.

University lecturer Daniel Young, 30, was killed in Kendor Gardens, near Morden, at about 08:07 GMT on Tuesday.
Detectives said they had "not ruled out" an attack by a stranger and are investigating whether it is linked to an earlier stabbing that morning.
A 26-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of murder, has been bailed.
Police said the first attack was on a 23-year-old man in Lewis Road, Mitcham at about 07:30 GMT.
The victim was taken to hospital after he was stabbed in the buttocks.
Det Supt Paul Monk said it was "possible that these are two separate attacks but equally they might be the same person".
"Random stranger attacks, murders, in London are extremely rare," he said, but added: "I can't preclude that this isn't such an attack."
Officers were called to Kendor Gardens - a park used by commuters as a short cut to Morden Tube station and Morden Road tram stop - where Mr Young had been stabbed.
He died at the scene.
Mr Young, originally from Paignton in Devon, was on his way to the second day of his new job as a lecturer at Coventry University's London Campus International.
Earlier, Det Ch Insp Cliff Lyons said: "This appears to be unprovoked attack on a man that was simply going about his daily business... and there would have been a number of commuters in the vicinity.
"I believe that the suspect would have entered and exited Kendor Gardens via Dorset Road and Kenley Road. From which direction they entered and exited has yet to be established."
Det Supt Paul Monk said the bailed man was still "very much part of the investigation" but appealed for witnesses who may have seen either attack.


The number of tourists visiting the UK and the amount they spend reached record levels in 2014, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Non-Britons made 34.8 million visits to the UK last year, an increase of 6% on the 32.8 million visits made in 2013.
They spent Â£21.73bn, 3% higher than 2013 and 21% higher than 2011.
Tourism Minister Helen Grant said she was delighted tourists were visiting in "record numbers".
The number of trips to the UK taken by North American visitors last year rose 4% to 3.69 million, while visits by Europeans increased 7% to 25.83 million.
VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe said the country had achieved its second consecutive annual record and further growth was expected.
"Tourism is increasingly becoming an essential part of the wider success of our economy," she said.
Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire said the figures were "tremendous news" for the UK.
He said: "Britain is open for business and I am delighted to see people from all around the globe coming to the UK to see our historic sites and sample our vibrant culture.
"This shows that our reforms are building an immigration system which works in the national interest - by clamping down on those who want to cheat the rules while ensuring our doors remain open to leisure and business visitors from around the world."


Print media has taken a beating in recent years from declining advertising revenue and circulation numbers.

22 December 2014 Last updated at 00:49 GMT
But one publication is bucking the trend. The global affairs and lifestyle magazine Monocle prints ten publications a year, and has just 18,000 readers.
The magazine is expanding its operations in Southeast Asia. Ashleigh Nghiem caught up with Monocle's editor in chief, Tyler Brule, and asked him which countries are driving its growth.


Tesco Bank is to relocate about 250 staff from Edinburgh to offices in Glasgow and Newcastle as part of a major reshuffle.

The bank also announced it would be closing its Haymarket Yards office and moving about 600 staff to its South Gyle headquarters.
As part of this move, about 250 customer service jobs at South Gyle will move to Glasgow or Newcastle.
The firm said it would develop a range of measures to support those affected.
The changes are set to take place in Spring 2017.
A Tesco Bank spokesman said:  "We are making this move from a position of strength, integrating our Edinburgh colleagues in one location is an exciting new phase of our journey and will support our ambition to build an innovative, progressive and vibrant workplace environment for the bank."


Ben Proud beat his own British record as he took 50m freestyle victory at the British Swimming Championships.

The 22-year-old's time of 21.32 seconds - his previous best was 21.54 - also secured him a place at this summer's World Championships in Budapest.
Find out how to get into swimming with our special guide.
Elsewhere, Holly Hibbot, 17, won the 400m freestyle as she held off Olympic silver medallist Jazz Carlin, 26, for her first senior British title.
And Max Litchfield won his second gold in the 200m individual medley.
The 22-year-old was adding to the 400m individual medley gold he won at Sheffield's Ponds Forge on Thursday.
Hannah Miley, 27, won the women's 200m individual medley, while Commonwealth champion Georgia Davies, 26, won the women's 50m backstroke.


Daniel Summerhays holds a three-shot lead over fellow American Matt Kuchar heading into the final round of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

The 33-year-old shot a four-under-par 68 that included five birdies to move to 13 under overall.
Jason Dufner had led by five stokes before Saturday's third round, but carded five over for the day to drop to tied third - four shots off the lead.
Americans Bubba Watson and Justin Thomas are also on nine under par.
Dufner ran up four early bogeys at Muirfield Village and compounded his misery by driving into a water hazard at the last for a closing bogey.
Former world number ones Rickie Fowler, at eight under, and Jordan Spieth, a stroke further back, remain in contention.


About 50 designer bags - some said to be worth as much as £40,000 - have been stolen in a smash and grab raid on a flagship designer store in London.

The Met said a black Mercedes, which is thought to have been stolen, reversed into the Gucci store in Sloane Street at about 21:50 GMT on Wednesday.
The suspects, said to be three, then stole handbags before fleeing in a blue Audi A4. No arrests have yet been made.
Security guards were in the shop at the time but were said to be unhurt.
The exclusive store, which Gucci describe on their website as a "flagship boutique", is said to be reviewing its security and there are calls for greater protection from the Metropolitan Police.
BBC journalist Nick Beake, who is at the scene, said sources have told him that CCTV shows the men, who were wearing balaclavas, scoop the bags up and sling them across their shoulders.


A 29-year-old man has been extradited from Lithuania to appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday on a number of sexual offence charges.

The man was brought from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, by PSNI extradition officers on Thursday.
The charges, which include rape, sexual assault and grievous bodily harm with intent, date from 2011 in Lurgan.
A European arrest warrant for the man was issued in Northern Ireland.


A man has been convicted of murdering his wife in a jealous rage a day after he found out about an alleged affair.

Stuart Gallear, 51, admitted fatally stabbing his wife Mandy, 42, at their home in Hindley, Wigan in October 2016.
He claimed he did not intend to kill her and lost his self-control after learning the identity of her lover, joiner Mark Prescott.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court rejected his account and unanimously found him guilty of murder.
Police found Mrs Gallear motionless on the kitchen floor of their home in Makinson Avenue with three deep wounds to her chest on 6 October.
A post-mortem examination revealed one of the stab wounds was 19cm deep and cut through the breast bone.
Gallear had found out his wife was having an affair with Mr Prescott the previous day, when the son of Mr Prescott's partner called at his house, jurors heard.
He sent text messages to Mr Prescott, one of which said "big mistake", and the next day threatened to kill him over the phone.
Six months earlier, Mrs Gallear had confessed to her husband, a warehouse manager, about an extra-marital relationship, but denied it was with Mr Prescott and said it had ended.
Gallear, who is originally from Wolverhampton, told police he remembered talking "amicably" with his wife on the afternoon of the attack after he returned from drinking five pints of lager in a local pub.
He said she then told him "I love him more than you" but his memory of what happened next was "blurred".
He claimed he "just snapped out of it", put the knife aside and rang for assistance after his wife protested "what are you doing? I still love you".
Prosecutor Alaric Bassao accused him of having "selective memory loss" and said the stabbing was the culmination of his anger and resentment.
Gallear is due to be sentenced on 12 April.


Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes says attracting the interest of Sunderland has not been a distraction ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

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The 45-year-old is among those being considered as a replacement for David Moyes after the Black Cats' relegation.
"It just doesn't play a part to be honest," he said before Saturday's game. "There's loads of speculation at this stage of the season."
McInnes would not be drawn on whether he would welcome an approach.
"All my interest is on tomorrow's game and preparing the team," he said.
Aberdeen, who finished runners-up to Brendan Rodgers' side in the Scottish Premiership and lost to the Glasgow side in the League Cup, stand between Celtic and a fourth domestic treble.
McInnes insisted that denying them their first such feat since 2001 was no extra incentive for him and his side.
But he stated: "I think the level of player they have and the performances they've produced, anything other than a treble would be disappointing for them.
"I think more Celtic teams should have won the treble in the last few years and, for whatever reason, they haven't."
"So, while we put ourselves under pressure to win, we've still had a very good season even if we lose tomorrow.
"But we can have a brilliant season - a season to remember - and a special season by winning this tomorrow."
"The players are really relaxed and we are going into the game taking confidence from the performances we've had of late," he said of a side that have won their last six games away from Pittodrie.
"I feel we couldn't be more ready."
However, McInnes recognised the task ahead of his players if they are to end Celtic's season-long unbeaten domestic run.
"We probably need a near-perfect performance from the majority," he said.
Aberdeen have lost their last six games against Celtic, but McInnes stressed: "I thoroughly believe there is a performance in us that can beat them.
"I think we have got closer to them in the last couple of games."
Midfielder Ryan Jack was stripped of the captaincy before the final after deciding to leave the club this summer at the end of his current contract.
However, McInnes stressed that he will have no qualms about fielding the 25-year-old in the final.
"It's ridiculous to think he wouldn't be fully committed during tomorrow's game," he added.
"He's an Aberdeen boy and he'd love nothing more in his last game for Aberdeen to be a Scottish Cup winner.
"There are a few in that boat who are moving and hopefully they can finish in a blaze of glory and be a winner at the end of it."


Chelsea were paid £150.8m by the Premier League after winning the 2016-17 title - 50% more than the top earners in 2015-16.

The 2016-17 season was the first of the latest TV deal and saw a total of almost £2.4bn paid to the 20 clubs - up from £1.6bn last season.
Bottom club Sunderland got £93.471m - more than the £93.219m 2015-16 winners Leicester pocketed the previous season.
The figures are based on broadcast and commercial deals plus prize money.
Funds from the Premier League's central commercial deals and overseas broadcast rights are shared equally - as is half of the domestic broadcast income.
A quarter is paid out in prize money based on each club's league position and the other quarter in "facility fees" for each game broadcast on UK television.
Arsenal were the top earners in 2015-16 with £100.9m  - but only the three relegated sides of Hull, Middlesbrough and Sunderland were paid less than that figure in 2016-17.
The ratio between the highest and lowest totals paid by the Premier League to its clubs in 2016-17 was 1.61 to 1, the lowest among Europe's top leagues, which means the Premier League is more equal when it comes to sharing revenue than its rivals.
The Premier League also paid out nearly £220m to Aston Villa, Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Wigan in parachute payments.
Villa, Newcastle and Norwich - the three most recently relegated sides - got almost £41m each.
Full table broken down into all categories on the Premier League website.


The traces of classroom lessons from nearly a century ago have been found on blackboards at a school in Oklahoma City.

The boards, preserved since 1917, were uncovered beneath another set of boards removed during renovation work at the Emerson High School. Chalk marks on the boards provide an insight into American schooling as it used to be.
Several drawings appear to come from a history lesson about the Pilgrims, who were among the early European settlers in America. The writing is in a flowing, cursive script - increasingly rare in modern schools.


Brazil's economy has grown 1% in the first three months of 2017, putting an end to the country's longest recession in history, officials have announced.

The GDP increase came after two consecutive years of negative growth, during which the Brazilian economy shrank by almost 8%.
A record harvest of soybeans, one of Brazil's main exports, gave the economy a boost.
But analysts warned Brazil could go back into recession in the near future.
A record 14 million people are unemployed according to official figures released earlier this week.
Uncertainty over the future of President Michel Temer has also rattled the markets.
Stock markets plummeted last month after a taped conversation was leaked in which the president seemed to discuss the payment of hush money to a jailed politician.
Mr Temer has denied the allegations, saying the tape had been "manipulated" but there have been growing calls for his resignation.
The ongoing corruption scandal has also thrown Mr Temer's planned economic reforms into doubt.
The president wants to push austerity reforms through Congress to restore fiscal discipline but his plans have been met with street protests.
There has been particularly strong opposition to his proposal to overhaul the pension system and raise the retirement age to 62 for women and 65 for men.
The plan triggered Brazil's first general strike in two decades.
Thursday's GDP growth announcement is expected to bolster the president's chances of staying in office and pushing through his reforms.


All this talk about the "Northern Powerhouse" seems to be concentrating minds wonderfully here in the West Midlands.

The combined authority proposed six months ago by four Black Country councils with Birmingham has now enlisted the influential support of Coventry's ruling Labour group.
Even Conservative-controlled Solihull, by far the most reluctant potential partner, is set to debate a recommendation that it should join in as well.
A Midlands Powerhouse in which Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre and a potential High-Speed rail station were conspicuous by their absence would be something of a nonsense.
The prize being held out by the chancellor, George Osborne, is the unprecedented bumper bundle of political and spending powers worth billions of pounds, along the lines of those already being handed out to councils in and around Manchester.
With it would come extra clout for local decision-makers in important areas including housing, transport, planning and skills.
But in return they may yet have to stomach the idea of a directly-elected "metro mayor".
In the face of overwhelming evidence that such a new-style regional boss is generally unwanted here, not least by the council leaders themselves, Mr Osborne is adamant that the new role is a "pre-requisite".
No less controversial is his insistence that the "devolution revolution" is for the cities but not for their surrounding counties.
Stand by for yet another war of words - Conservative leaders of neighbouring shire counties, including Adrian Hardman in Worcestershire - waste no time in reminding us that our non-metropolitan areas produce more for the UK economy than those much-vaunted major cities.


Northern Ireland's Jonathan Rea won the second race of the weekend at the World Superbike round in Thailand to continue his perfect start to the season.

Rea, 30, has won all four races in the championship so far, having also sealed a double in the opening round of the series at Phillip Island in February.
The defending world champion won Sunday's race two in Buriram by 4.07 seconds from England's Tom Sykes
Rea has a 30-point lead over Chaz Davies at the top of the standings.
The Kawasaki rider becomes the first rider since Englishman Neil Hodgson in 2003 to win the first four races of the season.
Having dominated practice and qualifying and won race one on Saturday, Rea secured a convincing victory in the second event of the weekend.
The race was initially red-flagged after Aprilia rider Lorenzo Savadori crashed out, depositing oil and debris from his machine.
Rea was forced to start from ninth because of the new reverse grid positions rules introduced for World Superbikes in 2017 but soon made his way to the front, before the race was brought to a premature halt.
Back in pole for the 16-lap restart, the County Antrim man pulled away from his rivals to chalk up the 42nd triumph of his career in the series, including 12 doubles.
Rea has now won five of the six races held over the Chang International Circuit since the Thai round was introduced in 2015.
"I'm so happy. I made a good start and managed to get clean away and stay in a rhythm. I'm feeling good with the bike," said Rea.
As he did on Saturday, Sykes overtook Marco Melandri on the final corner to clinch second spot, with Alex Lowes, Jordi Torres and Welshman Davies, who slid off in the original race, completing the top six.
Eugene Laverty finished 15th and now lies 11th in the championship, with 15 points.
The next round will be held in Aragon at the start of April.


Lack of exercise is the biggest risk factor for heart disease in women aged 30 and above, according to a study.

If all over-30s followed recommended guidelines on exercise, nearly 3,000 lives could be saved each year in Australia alone, say researchers.
More needs to be done to warn women of inactivity, as it outweighs other risk factors such as obesity, they say.
Lack of exercise is a known major risk factor for heart disease, says the British Heart Foundation.
A team at the University of Queensland, Australia tracked the health of more than 30,000 women born in the 1920s, 1940s and 1970s.
They found smoking had the greatest impact on women's heart disease risk below the age of 30.
However, as women got older and more gave up smoking, it was overtaken by physical inactivity as the dominant influence on heart disease risk.
Continuing efforts to encourage people to stop smoking were warranted, the researchers reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
But they said greater effort were needed to promote exercise, which they describe as a "Cinderella" risk factor compared with obesity.
"We need a lot more effort to keep middle-aged women active and then keep them active into old age," Prof Wendy Brown, of the university's centre for research on exercise, physical activity and health, told BBC News.
"If you can do at least 30 minutes and preferably 45 minutes a day, you'll see huge improvements in your health and reduce your risk of heart disease by half."
According to NHS Choices, adults aged 19-64 years are recommended to do 150 minutes of weekly physical activity, or 30 minutes on five days a week.
Commenting on the study, Thembi Nkala, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said physical inactivity was a known major risk factor for heart disease.
"Interestingly, this study shows its dominant influence on heart disease amongst women, and suggests a greater need to promote regular physical activity amongst this group," she said.
"It's important to remember that heart disease is linked to other factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
"It's essential to manage these too, as the more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of heart disease. "


A British veteran has become the first double leg amputee to run six marathons in as many days in the Sahara desert.

Duncan Slater, who lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan, completed the 251km (156 miles) Marathon Des Sables in Morocco on Friday evening.
The ex-RAF platoon sergeant has raised Â£20,000 for servicemen and women in his second attempt at the endurance event.
Mr Slater said he hoped to "inspire other wounded, injured and sick from the armed forces community and beyond".
Since last Sunday, Norwich-based Mr Slater and his former colleague Chris Moore have been travelling across the Sahara desert in temperatures reaching 50C (122F).
The pair, who had to carry all their food and equipment, served in Afghanistan together when Mr Slater's vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in 2009.
After crossing the line, Mr Slater said he wanted other amputees to "know that there is life beyond injury".
Kensington Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official residence, tweeted its congratulations to Mr Slater, describing him as a "huge inspiration".
Mr Slater, who is now a charity worker, has been raising money online for Walking With The Wounded's project for former servicemen and women with mental health difficulties.
Mr Slater said he took the challenge on to "prove that a double leg amputee can do it".
He was forced to pull out of the 2016 race at the end of the fourth day, where participants must travel 81.5km (50.6 miles).
"Sadly, due to significant damage to my legs, I withdrew from the race," he said on his fundraising page.
"I have spent the last year working with some ground breaking new prosthetics experts to improve performance."
The race, which translates as the "'Marathon of the Sands", gives participants water rations and tents. It was started by Frenchman Patrick Bauer in 1986 and about 1,000 people now take part each year.
In a Facebook post, Walking With The Wounded said Mr Slater was "a true inspiration to us all".
It added that Mr Slater suffered "severe dehydration" on Thursday night and started the final day of the race on an empty stomach.
"His last day started with drama... with defeat not an option."


All babies in the UK are offered a potentially life-saving vaccine against meningitis B, as part of a national immunisation programme.

But hundreds of thousands of people have signed a petition for the jab to be offered to all children under the age of 11 after a mother shared pictures of her daughter dying in hospital from meningitis B.
It is a bacterial infection that most often affects children under one year old.
There are about 1,200 cases each year in the UK.
Symptoms include a high fever with cold hands and feet, confusion, vomiting and headaches.
With early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment, most people will make a full recovery.
But it is fatal in one in 10 cases - and about one in four of those who survive are left with long-term problems, such as amputation, deafness, epilepsy and learning difficulties.
Meningitis is an infection of the meninges - the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
There are effective vaccines against other strains of meningitis - but, until recently, not against Meningitis B.
The vaccine is relatively new and the UK is the first in the world to add the jab to its routine childhood vaccination programme.
The vaccine has been found to be safe and well-tolerated in trials involving more than 8,000 people.
It is not possible to prove how effective the vaccine is because of the rarity of meningitis B.
But based on how the jab affects the immune system, it is thought to provide protection against around 80%-90% of meningitis B subtypes.
In 2014, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation - the expert body that advises the government on vaccinations - recommended that babies be given the meningitis B vaccine, from two months of age.
The committee had previously ruled that the vaccine should not be introduced - because, it said, it was not cost-effective.
This caused an outcry from campaigners, and 118 paediatricians, nurses and scientists wrote to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt pressing for the committee to reconsider.
Discussions between the Department of Health and GlaxoSmithKline - the company that manufactures the Bexsero vaccine - over the price began in August 2014.
However, the government could not agree a price for the vaccine.
In March 2015, Mr Hunt announced an agreement with the firm to supply the vaccine.
In June, it was announced that the vaccine would be given to all babies when they reached two months of age.
And the booster jabs would be given at four months and 12 months as part of the childhood immunisation programme from September 2015.
The decision was made to protect those most at risk - cases of meningitis B peak in infants at around five or six months of age.
But the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) did advise a catch-up programme for slightly older babies who were three or four months old in September 2015.
But not for any other age group.
Like all vaccines, the Men B vaccine can cause side-effects, but studies suggest they are generally mild and do not last long.
According to NHS Choices, almost 8,000 people, including more than 5,000 babies and toddlers, have had the new Men B vaccine during clinical trials to test its safety.
Since the vaccine was licensed, almost a million doses have been given, with no safety concerns identified.
The vaccine does not give someone meningitis. It is made from proteins found on the surface of the bacteria that cause meningitis. This stimulates the immune system to protect against the real disease.
While the vaccine can be offered privately, stocks are low due to a worldwide shortage.
The manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline hopes to have increased stocks in the UK by the summer.


Wales flanker Dan Lydiate has been ruled out of the tour of New Zealand after injuring his shoulder in Sunday's defeat against England.

He has been replaced in the Welsh squad by Cardiff Blues' uncapped 23-year-old open-side Ellis Jenkins.
Wales play the first of three Tests against the world champion All Blacks on 11 June.
"It's hard for Dan because his tour is already over," said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.
Lydiate, who was captaining Wales in the absence of Sam Warburton, was taken off the field during the first half of the 27-13 defeat at Twickenham.
The 28-year-old also filled in for Warburton at open-side flanker, with Ross Moriarty taking Lydiate's place at six.
Jenkins' call-up means there is now natural open-side cover for his regional team-mate Warburton in the Wales squad.
The two have played together for the Blues this season, with Jenkins often wearing seven and Warburton switching to the blind-side.
The other back-rowers in the Wales squad to face New Zealand are Taulupe Faletau, Ross Moriarty, James King and Josh Turnbull.


Three teams, two games left and only one goal - win promotion to the Premier League.

Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton enter the penultimate round of Championship fixtures level on 87 points, with only goal difference narrowly separating the trio.
Throw in the prospect of a possible final-day decider between Boro and Brighton, and it promises to be one of the most tense finishes to a second-tier season in recent memory.
BBC Sport analyses the three contenders for automatic promotion, which will be worth a minimum of £99m to the two successful clubs next season.
Remaining fixtures: QPR (h) 2 May, Charlton (a) 7 May
The season in short: Clubs often struggle after relegation from the Premier League, but Sean Dyche has assembled a squad on the verge of returning to the top flight at the first attempt.
Danny Ings left for Liverpool but his replacement, Andre Gray, has scored 22 goals and won the Championship player for the year award, while Joey Barton has added industry to their midfield.
Since entering the top six in the middle of September, the Clarets have not dropped out of the play-off places and are currently on a 21-match unbeaten run in the league (14 wins and seven draws).
Burnley manager Sean Dyche: "We had three games last week and we controlled that well, physically. Nothing's done, but the win at Preston was a big step forward again.
"I've said all along, we focus on our own business. Everyone else can worry about everyone else's business, we just focus on our own."
View from the commentary box - Phil Cunliffe, BBC Radio Lancashire: "I can't see Burnley slipping up, especially as they play already-relegated Charlton in their final fixture.
"Barton's boundless energy from central midfield is the envy of many an opponent 10 years his junior. 'Will and demand' is one of Dyche's stock phrases, and Barton embodies that.
"I expect Gray to add to his 22 goals, but it says a lot about Burnley's strengths that the Football League and Championship Player of the Year is not guaranteed to win the club's own Player of the Year award."
Remaining fixtures: Birmingham (a) 29 April, Brighton (h) 7 May
The season in short: Having lost 2-0 to Norwich in last season's play-off final, Middlesbrough spent big money improving their attacking options to get into the top two places this time round.
A combined £7m was spent on forwards Cristhian Stuani and David Nugent, winger Stewart Downing returned to Teesside in a £5.5m deal, while striker Jordan Rhodes arrived in the January transfer window for an initial £9m.
But it has been Boro's defence which has impressed the most this season, with Aitor Karanka's side conceding a mere 28 league goals - five fewer than any other team in the Championship.
Karanka was reported to be considering his future in March after a training ground row, but the Teesiders are unbeaten in eight games since it was confirmed the Spaniard was staying.
Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka: "We are in an amazing position - I can't understand who could be pessimistic when we are almost at the top of the table.
"Two years ago we were playing to stay in the Championship. Now some people think to be in this position is a negative thing - I can't understand. Everybody has to be pleased with this team and these players."
View from the commentary box - Paul Addison, BBC Tees: "Middlesbrough never make it easy for themselves - it's just not part of the deal.
"Boro remain in a terrific position as the race for the Premier League goes down to the wire, but Burnley and Brighton keep on grinding out the results.
"Last season's play-off heartache is fresh in the minds of the Boro faithful, and a lot of fans I've spoken to fear a repeat of it if they miss out on a place in the top two.
"But the fact remains that if they win their last two they're up - and that's got to be the aim."
Remaining fixtures: Derby (h) 2 May, Middlesbrough (a) 7 May
The season in short: After a relegation battle last season, Brighton started the campaign with a 21-match unbeaten run (11 wins and 10 draws) which laid the platform for their promotion challenge.
Their first defeat, at home by Middlesbrough in December, prompted a five-game run without a victory but Chris Hughton's Seagulls have rallied since then, losing just once since the start of February.
Victories were recorded by narrow margins in the first half of the campaign but mid-season signings Anthony Knockaert and Jiri Skalak have proved crucial during the run-in, helping Brighton significantly improve their goal difference.
Brighton midfielder Beram Kayal: "I have won the league with Maccabi Haifa in Israel and Celtic in Scotland. This is the first time I have been in this situation.
"They told me 87 points would get you promotion from this league. This league is crazy. With the team spirit and confidence we have, I think we can do it."
View from the commentary box - Johnny Cantor, BBC Sussex: "Most Albion fans would have taken a play-off place at the beginning of the season but, with the current form, they are now sensing a top-two finish.
"It has been an emotional campaign for Seagulls fans and players after the Shoreham air crash last August, in which a member of the club's ground staff died, but that day seems to have strengthened their resolve.
"They have suffered the pain of missing out via the play-offs twice in the past three seasons, but know they can avoid a repeat of the post-season drama with two wins.
"It is a tough ask against two top sides but it remains in their own hands."


The Colombian government has freed 16 Farc guerrillas as part of negotiations to end their decades-long conflict.

The rebels were released in a "goodwill gesture" in return for Farc's unilateral ceasefire in July, the government's peace negotiators said.
They are the first of a group of 30 to be pardoned.
Earlier this week, both sides asked for a UN mission to oversee the transition to peace, having set a March deadline to finalise a deal.
The mission of unarmed observers for a period of 12 months would guarantee that any ceasefire and disarmament would be genuine and permanent, they said in a joint statement at the peace talks in Cuba on Tuesday.
The freed guerrillas - nine men and seven women - had been serving prison terms for rebellion. The government said they had been pardoned on condition that they do not re-join the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).
Farc welcomed the move as a "positive gesture" but called on the government to also free 80 other rebels with health problems, the AFP news agency reports.
An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the fighting between Farc and the Colombian military, which began in 1964. It is the longest-running armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere.
Since official peace talks started in Havana in November 2012, negotiators have reached agreement on key issues such as the political participation of the rebels, land rights, drug trafficking and transitional justice.
However it is unclear whether a final deal can be reached by the 23 March deadline set last year. The Farc said last week there were still "substantial hurdles" ahead.


The BBC generated more than £8bn for the UK economy in 2011-12, almost twice its licence fee spend.

A new report published by the corporation showed licence money spending had a positive knock-on effect for regional economies.
The total expenditure over the two-year period came to £4.3bn, which led to a gross value-added (GVA) boost to the economy of £8.3bn.
However, spending in London was three times the rest of the UK combined.
The report said: "The effect of initial BBC spending is 'multiplied' as it ripples through the economy from region to region and sector to sector (and to the employees of those sectors). This is known as the 'multiplier effect'."
The BBC's chief economic and policy adviser Najma Rajah explained: "The basic premise is that when the BBC spends a pound, the impact of that pound is 'multiplied' as that pound spent by the BBC creates value elsewhere in the economy.
"So, for example, if the BBC were to buy a camera from a supplier in Manchester, the camera supplier would receive some money in return for the camera.
"The camera company would then use the income generated from the sale of the camera to pay their suppliers for the components that went into the camera and to also pay their employees and so on."
Rajah added: "A really good example of how this multiplier effect works is when the BBC commissions a programme that is made by an independent television production.
"The programme might be filmed in Scotland using local runners, electricians, make-up artists etc. who are paid and then will spend their wages in Scotland to the benefit of the Scottish economy."
The report revealed significant growth in the north of England following the opening of the new BBC North headquarters in Salford Quays, with GVA growing 19.7% to £391m.
But in the Midlands, it fell 21.7% to £199m, while the south was down 18.8% to £699m and Wales dropped 6.2% to £276m.
London saw the biggest expenditure of £2.98bn - nearly three times as much as the rest of the UK combined - which in turn generated £5.65bn GVA.
John Tate, the BBC's director of policy and strategy, used the findings of the report to call on Ofcom to reverse its plans for a spectrum tax on broadcasters next year.
In a blog post he wrote:  "The wider benefit of the licence fee provides an extra reason for Ofcom to think again before it implements a spectrum tax next year: a levy on the spectrum broadcasters use to transmit their programmes.
"As well as hitting licence fee payers, such a tax would remove much-needed cash from the UK's creative sector."


A man is in a critical condition after being struck by a car in Crossmaglen, County Armagh.

Police said the incident happened on Cardinal O'Fiaich Square.
The square has been closed while police conduct an investigation into the incident.


Saturday's Manchester derby will not define the season for United or City but it is a chance for both teams, and their managers, to show why they are a force to be reckoned with.

It is already clear these two sides will be in the mix for the title and both will want to make a statement of intent.
What adds even more spice to the occasion is that Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola both go into their much-anticipated first meeting in English football with 100% records after winning their first three league games.
Things are going very well for them, and their new players, but this is obviously the biggest test they have faced at their new clubs so far.
All things considered, it is brilliant for the Premier League that this match is happening so early in the season.
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While the outcome will not tell us everything about United or City, it will reveal a lot more about how they are truly shaping up.
I am really looking forward to it. I think it will be a ferocious battle and it is extremely tough to call, although I probably favour United slightly because City have striker Sergio Aguero suspended, which is a massive blow for them.
I don't think City or Aguero had much of an argument that he did not deserve a ban for his elbow on West Ham's Winston Reid before the international break.
It was the right decision in the end but my only concern - which was also the reason City appealed - is Aguero was able to be punished retrospectively because referee Andre Marriner did not see the incident at the time.
I do wonder, if the referee didn't see it, what on earth was he looking at?
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Kelechi Iheanacho, Nolito or even a rejuvenated Raheem Sterling could lead City's attack instead of Aguero on Saturday but Guardiola has some other big decisions to make.
New goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has played in plenty of big games for Barcelona and Chile but he has hardly trained with the rest of the City squad since he joined at the end of last month.
So it would be a gamble to hand him his Premier League debut in a game this big, especially in a derby atmosphere and against a team that pose as much of an attacking threat as this United side do.
The height and power of United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will make Saturday a big test for City's entire defence, not just their keeper.
As I said in my analysis on The Premier League Show on Thursday, United under Mourinho get the ball into the box far earlier and far more often than they were doing last season.
This season they have already made 53 crosses from open play, compared to 29 in the final three games of last season.
The reason they are doing that is their aerial threat, not just through Ibrahimovic but also the physical prowess of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini when balls are delivered into the box.
They will play the same way against City - looking to get the ball out wide and then crossing it into the danger areas for someone to put their head on it.
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With his goal against Leicester in the Community Shield, and then again against Southampton, it was Ibrahimovic who did that, and to perfection.
Ibrahimovic is great at reading the line of the cross and timing his jump above his marker, and then the accuracy and power of his header does the rest.
Ibrahimovic is not United's only in-form striker - the clamour for Mourinho to hand Marcus Rashford a start has increased after his hat-trick on his England Under-21 debut against Norway on Tuesday.
As I said on Match of the Day after Rashford came on to score an injury-time winner against Hull in United's last game, I don't think it will be long until that happens.
As a striker, when the manager picks other people then, when he gives you a chance, you have to take it.
That is exactly what Rashford is doing with all these goals and, when someone keeps on scoring like he does, it gets harder and harder to leave him out.
Rashford's time will come soon but, if everyone is fit for Saturday, it would not surprise me if Mourinho sticks with the same starting XI and uses him as an impact sub again.
Aguero's ban means City have to make at least one change from their last game but their approach will not change - Guardiola will play his usual possession game and try to stretch United.
In City's first game of the season, against Sunderland, we saw something new to the Premier League when he asked his full-backs to push into the centre of midfield to try to out-number their opponents, and both wingers stayed very wide.
When it works, like it did in the first half of their win over West Ham, City are very difficult to stop. The question is, will it work against Mourinho?
His United side will be quite content to sit back and try to hit them on the break and if City keep pushing their full-backs forward to flood midfield then they might just be open to counter-attacks.
We know now what United will do when they do get forward - put those balls into the box - but we don't know yet if City will be able to deal with them.
Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
Who would be in your combined Manchester XI? Pick your XI - and then share it with your friends.


A 30-year-old man has been arrested following an armed robbery at a fast food outlet in Belfast after he was stopped by members of the public.

A man entered the Subway store on the Dublin Road carrying a screwdriver at about 10:15 BST on Sunday.
He threatened a staff member before making off with a sum of money.
It is understood that members of the public stopped the man before he was later arrested by the police.


The first Chough chick to be born in the wild in Jersey for over 100 years is a male, according to the charity rearing them.

DNA testing was used to confirm the sex of Dusty, the spring-born Chough.
Choughs, a red-billed member of the Crow family, died out in Jersey in about 1900.
Over the past three years, wildlife experts have worked to reintroduce the birds to the north coast and had some success with hand-reared chicks.
DNA samples were sent to a lab that specialises in finding out the gender of birds to find out for certain if Dusty was male or female.
Keepers say it is great news for the population in Jersey as the potential number of breeding pairs could go up.
Another chick, CeCe, who had been hand-reared, was confirmed as a female.
The Birds on the Edge group, who reared the original red-billed choughs, plan to bring in more chicks from Cornwall to keep Dusty and CeCe company.
The original choughs came from the Paradise Park wildlife sanctuary in Cornwall and were then reared at the Durrell Wildlife Park in Jersey before being released into the wild.
They made their home at Ronez Quarry in St John, where the nest holding Dusty was discovered.


A woman in her 50s has died from injuries she suffered in a road collision in Carrickfergus, County Antrim.

She was hit by a car on Rogers Quay shortly after 17:00 BST on Tuesday.
Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them.


Being the president of the United States is not an easy job, as Donald Trump has quickly learned.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal this week, the former businessman said he'd had to adapt from his deal-making background to the presidency.
"The magnitude of everything is so big, and also the decisions are so big. You know, you're talking about life and death," he said.
In his first few months, the candidate who offered simple and clear solutions on the campaign trail has had to deal with some complicated obstacles - and row back on promises.
In that interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president revealed that during his first talk with China's President, Xi Jinping, he discovered China could not simply deal with the nuclear threat from North Korea.
"After listening for 10 minutes, I realised it's not so easy," the president said. "I felt pretty strongly that they had a tremendous power over North Korea. But it's not what you would think".
That exchange has raised eyebrows in some quarters.
Vox writer Zack Beauchamp observed: "Trump thought China could fix North Korea until the Chinese president politely informed him that North Korea is in fact complicated." That amounted to "basic facts... he could have Googled", Beauchamp added.
The same interview revealed that Mr Trump will not label China a currency manipulator, as he had promised, and had offered to make concessions on trade - another issue he has been vocal about - in exchange for help with North Korea.
The Affordable Care Act - or Obamacare - was one of Trump's major campaign issues.
"On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare," a statement from the campaign in early 2016 said.
That did not happen.
It took until March - two months after inauguration day - to bring a bill to the Republican-controlled Congress, where it was was rejected by Trump's own party.
He could not get the votes from Republicans, and withdrew the bill at the last minute.
"It's an unbelievably complex subject" the president said in late February.
"Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated," he added.
During the campaign, Mr Trump repeatedly said he wanted to forge a better relationship with Russia.
He also tweeted that "both countries will, perhaps, work together" to solve global problems once he was president.
As late as November last year, after his election victory, he told the New York Times: "I would love to be able to get along with Russia and I think they'd like to be able to get along with us. It's in our mutual interest."
But the diplomatic reality has proved much more difficult.
Mr Trump has launched military action against Russia's ally, Syria, and the US ambassador to the United Nations accused the Kremlin of sheltering Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
A week later, Trump told the media: "right now, we're not getting along with Russia at all.  We may be at an all-time low in terms of a relationship with Russia.  This has built for a long period of time."
Donald Trump's border wall was one of his most high-profile promises. He rejected the idea of using fencing, and insisted he would build a real wall from border to border - and make Mexico pay for it.
Mexico, perhaps unsurprisingly, refused to pay for the wall, which is estimated to cost anywhere from $10bn - $25bn.
In signing an order to start the process, Mr Trump accepted that US taxpayers will have to cover the initial funding - but says the money will be somehow recouped from Mexicans.
Quite apart from the political difficulties, there's another problem - an engineering one.
Mr Trump insisted, repeatedly, that he was not promising a border fence, but a "impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall."
But the border runs for some 1,900 miles (3,100 km), over mountains, valleys, and rivers.
The bidding process is still in motion, and Trump has said costs will go "way down" once he turns his attention to it.
But on the sidelines, the administration's top immigration official, John Kelly, has been saying something different.
"It's unlikely that we will build a wall or physical barrier from sea to shining sea," he said in April.
Mr Trump's complaints about the Nato military alliance being "obsolete" caused much concern following his election victory.
He questioned Nato's purpose, while repeatedly saying that the US was paying an unfair share - all of which alarmed the other allies.
But Trump's new defence secretary, James Mattis, moved to calm worries after his appointment, calling Nato the "fundamental bedrock" of co-operation.
The president himself seemed to follow suit in April, when he hosted Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House.
He declared that a renewed focus on fighting terrorism, as he saw it, meant Nato was no longer "obsolete" - but he still hoped other countries would contribute more.
On top of the learning curve Trump has faced in his new role as president, there are some campaign promises he simply rowed back on between winning the election an his inauguration day.
Chants of "lock her up" at his rallies were encouraged by his promise to prosecute Hilary Clinton - a policy quietly dropped to let Mrs Clinton "heal".
Policies on torture, climate change, gay marriage, deportation, and the banning of Muslim migrants were all softened and changed in the months leading up to his presidency.
But there is one clear area where Trump's shift in approach based on new information has paid off politically - his approval of strikes in Syria.
Four years ago, when military strikes against president Assad were considered by Obama's administration, Trump criticised interventionist foreign policy.
"Forget Syria and make America great again!" he tweeted.
But when children were caught up in a chemical weapons attack, he ordered a missile strike on a Syrian government airfield - a move applauded by politicians across the US political divide.


US retail sales saw their biggest rise for more than a year in April, largely because of a surge in car sales.

Overall retail sales grew by 1.3% last month compared with March, according to the US Commerce Department - the strongest gain since March 2015.
Car sales climbed by 3.2%, a sharp reversal from the 3.2% fall recorded in the previous month.
March's total retail sales were better than previously reported, falling by 0.3% not 0.4%.
When cars, petrol, building materials and food services are stripped out "core retail sales" rose by 0.9% in April.  Analysts had forecast a 0.3% gain.
"The numbers came in much stronger than we expected,"  said Peter Cardillo chief market economist at First Standard Financial.
"That will help alleviate the market's concerns over retail. The number also puts the rate hike back on the table," he added.
Sales grew in most retail sectors, except building materials and garden equipment.
Non-store retailers, which include online and catalogue businesses, were up 2.1%, clothing rose 1% and even the troubled department store sector edged up by 0.3%.
This slight improvement  comes at the end of a week in which four department stores have published disappointing results.
Macy's, Kohl's, Nordstrom and J C Penney have all reported a fall in sales.
Like for like sales at J C Penny fell 0.4% in the first quarter of its financial year up to 30 April.
US department stores have lost out as shoppers have spent on more expensive items including electronics, household goods and cars.
According to Neil Saunders, chief executive of Conlumino retail growth is slowing, amid a "darkening" economic outlook. However he says the slowdown is not dramatic and it does not affect all sectors equally.
"Consumers are now more cautious about spending than they were at the start of the year. This is something not helped by the increase in the cost of gas which, although still lower than last year, has risen consistently for the past few months. Gas now takes a larger share of retail spend than at any time in the past 6 months," he said.
"Ultimately, this means that while Americans are still spending they are doing so more selectively: choosing which products to buy and which retailers to visit and paying much more attention to things like price and value for money.
"This week we have heard from those retailers which have lost out because their strategies, positioning, or appeal is wrong. While their fortunes reflect a more negative mood, they are not necessarily representative of retail as a whole."


Two north Wales councils have raked in almost £300,000 in fines for offences including dog fouling and littering.

Conwy and Denbighshire councils issued fixed penalty notices totalling £176,925 and £106,395 respectively for the period of April 2013 to March 2014.
Welsh government statistics reveal an increase in the number of fines issued by local authorities for environmental crimes across Wales.
The total amount received by all local authorities was £656,129.
Littering continues to be the offence receiving the most amount of fines, followed by smoking related litter and then dog fouling.
The maximum fine offenders can receive is £75.
Minister for Natural Resources, Carl Sargeant, called the offences a "blight on the communities across Wales".
He said: "Littering, dog fouling, graffiti, fly posting and noise offences are completely unacceptable.
"Fixed penalties are one way of tackling these problems, and it's very encouraging to see local authorities are now more proactive in issuing them."


The UK's trade with the European Union will be "at least as free" after Brexit as it is now, Liam Fox says.

The International Trade Secretary said it was in other countries' interests to avoid tariffs which he said would "harm the people of Europe".
He also predicted the UK would be a standard-bearer for global free trade and that Brexit represented a "golden opportunity" to forge new links.
Lib Dem EU spokesman Nick Clegg said Mr Fox was "delusional" about Brexit.
The UK is unable to negotiate trade deals independently while in the EU so Mr Fox will be negotiating new arrangements with other countries after Brexit, and has already had some talks with countries such as Australia.
In a speech in Manchester, he said free trade had "transformed the world for the better" and that the UK had "a golden opportunity to forge a new role for ourselves in the world" in the "post-geography trading world" as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) - the body which helps sets rules for trade between different countries.
He said: "As a newly independent WTO member outside the EU, we will continue to fight for trade liberalisation as well as potentially helping developing markets trade their way out of poverty by giving them preferential access to our markets.
"I believe the UK is in a prime position to become a world leader in free trade because of the brave and historic decision of the British people to leave the European Union.
"We are leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe and we are ready to take our place in an open, liberal and competitive globalised trading environment."
Asked afterwards whether he was concerned about tariffs being put in place, he said: "Who does it harm more if we end up in a new tariff environment?
"Does it harm more those who sell more to the UK, or the UK? It's in everybody's interests that, as we move forward, that we have at least as free a trading environment as we have today."
Mr Fox also defended his recent comments that Britain was "too lazy and too fat" with businessmen preferring "golf on a Friday afternoon" to trying to boost the country's prosperity.
"What I said was as a country we have been too willing to rest upon the achievements of previous generations," he said.
"I think the figures speak for themselves."
The former GP added: "When I was a doctor my job was not to tell people what they wanted to hear, it was to tell people what they needed to hear in order to put things right."
Liam Fox is aiming high. The international trade secretary told an audience of business leaders in Manchester that when Britain leaves the EU, he wants it to have a trade environment with European economies that is at least as free as it is now. Anything else, he said, may not harm the politicians and institutions in Brussels, but it would harm the people of Europe.
He also said for the first time that he wanted a post-Brexit Britain to be a full independent member of the World Trade Organisation, a clear signal that he does not believe the UK should seek what's called a soft Brexit involving membership of the EU single market or customs union.
Mr Fox's argument is that EU leaders won't want to impose punishing new tariffs on British goods and services for fear of harming their own economy. But hoping for a trade deal with the EU as good as it is now will be seen by some as highly optimistic.
But Mr Fox was criticised by former deputy PM, now Lib Dem EU spokesman Nick Clegg. He said:  "Liam Fox is delusional about the impact of Brexit on British trade with the rest of the world. Unbelievably, he claims to be 'taking an axe to red tape across borders'.
"The truth is that leaving the EU's customs union and single market will bring a deluge of new Brexit red tape down on the heads of British businesses who export to the continent."
Labour MP Pat McFadden, for the Open Britain campaign which pushes for a close relationship with the EU, said: "Today's speech took us no further in terms of setting out a government plan of how to secure as good and free access to our biggest market as we currently have."
Ben Digby, international director at the CBI, said it was "encouraging to see the government make a robust case for free trade". He added: "Redefining our economic and trading links with Europe must be the first priority, as the continent remains our biggest trading partner and the terms of our exit from the EU will help to shape what future trade deals look like."
The government has yet to set out its negotiating position. Key issues include the balance between single market access and accepting the right of EU citizens to freely move to live and work in the UK.
In a BBC interview, Italy's prime minister said it would be "impossible" for Brexit talks to result in a deal that gives Britons more rights than others outside the EU.
Matteo Renzi warned that leaving the EU would be a "very difficult process" - but the problems could be solved only after the UK began the exit procedure.
Markus Kerber, the head of the influential BDI which represents German industry, said a so-called "hard" Brexit, rather than a "fudge", was the only option and predicted the UK would not secure full access to the EU single market if it wanted to curb migration.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the British government appeared to want "relatively full access to the single market and yet limited on non existing freedom of movement of labour".
"That I think is impossible at the moment, so what we think the British government wants I can tell you straight away is not what the continental Europeans are willing or even able to give, then it will be relatively short negotiations," he added.
The issue is likely to dominate the Conservative Party conference which begins on Sunday. Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will not formally trigger Brexit this year but faces calls to clarify the government's demands.
Former education secretary Nicky Morgan, who campaigned for Remain in the referendum, told the BBC the PM could give a "broad outline" in her conference speech and called for details to be provided "in the next couple of months".
Another Conservative Remain campaigner, ex-chancellor Ken Clarke, told the New Statesman Mrs May was running a "government with no policies" which has no idea how to carry out Britain's exit from the European Union
"Nobody in the government has the first idea of what they're going to do next on the Brexit front," he said.


Former Wales captain Gareth Thomas says England skipper Dylan Hartley should lead the 2017 British and Irish Lions to New Zealand.

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Wales flanker Sam Warburton led the 2013 tour to Australia with compatriot Alun Wyn Jones taking over for the third Test when Warburton was injured.
Thomas says hooker Hartley's experience of helping to beat southern hemisphere teams gives him the edge.
"I'd go more at this time for Dylan Hartley," said Thomas.
"We talk about the mental edge and the physical edge.
"I think what Dylan Hartley has is kind of an experience of beating the Tri-Nation teams, being part of an England team that's just gone to Australia and defeated them.
"We talk about (tour coach Warren) Gatland and his knowledge because he's a New Zealander, but also you want knowledge from people who know how to beat these teams.
"I think Dylan Hartley will bring that."
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Gatland has already said Hartley has the right leadership credentials.
A poor disciplinary record has chequered Hartley's career, but he has impressed since being named England captain in January, 2016.
Hartley was selected for the 2013 tour, but was subsequently suspended for verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes in the Premiership final.
Hartley captained England to the Grand Slam in the Six Nations and a 3-0 series whitewash of Australia.
The 2017 Lions face a gruelling 10-match series, beginning only one week after domestic finals on 3 June, featuring three Tests against the All Blacks and five matches against Super Rugby teams and a clash with the Maori.
Thomas took over as leader of the last Lions to tour New Zealand, in 2005, when Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll was injured in the opening minutes of the first of three heavy Test defeats.
Thomas, the first Welshman to win 100 caps, says the 2005 schedule meant the tourists being split into Test and midweek teams early on - a choice that faces Gatland next summer.
"It's an unbelievably difficult schedule and it's almost 15-love to New Zealand because they've set this up," said Thomas.
"There is a kind of strange atmosphere when you split camp and split teams and I'm sure that's something Gatland doesn't want to do, but it's also something New Zealand will want him to do."
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The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that a Turkish politician should not have been prosecuted for denying that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey was a genocide.

Judges ruled by 10 votes to seven that Dogu Perincek's 2007 conviction for racial discrimination by a Swiss court infringed his right to free speech.
Mr Perincek had said "the Armenian genocide is a big fat lie".
The ECHR ruled that Mr Perincek had not called for "hatred or intolerance".
The chairman of Turkey's left-wing Patriotic Party used a series of press conferences in 2005 to blame Western countries and Tsarist Russia for stoking tensions between Muslims and Armenians to undermine the Ottoman Empire, and argued that the resulting deaths in 1915 were not a premeditated attempt to wipe out an ethnic group.
The ECHR found that his statements related to an issue of "public interest" and "could not be regarded as affecting the dignity of the members of the Armenian community to the point of requiring a criminal law response".
The court made a distinction with Holocaust denial, which judges said could always be seen as a form of incitement to racial hatred in certain countries.
Denying that the Armenian killings were a genocide is illegal in Switzerland as well as Cyprus, Slovakia, and Greece.
Turkey denies committing genocide and says 500,000 people died, not 1.5 million as claimed by Armenia.
The ECHR said it was up to international criminal courts to decide whether the killings were a genocide.
But it ruled that the Swiss courts appeared to have punished Mr Perincek "simply for voicing an opinion that diverged from the established ones in Switzerland".
The ECHR's Grand Chamber ruling is final and binding on all Council of Europe members.
The Swiss government said it would examine the judgement to assess whether any change was required to its anti-racism law.


Kanye West is being sued by a Hungarian rock singer who has accused him of sampling his work without permission on the 2013 song New Slaves.

Gabor Presser filed for damages of at least $2.5m (£1.7m) at New York's US District Court.
Presser claims one-third of New Slaves, from West's album Yeezus, is an unauthorised copy of the 1969 song Gyongyhaju Lany.
Lawyers for West and Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC have yet to comment.
Presser said he wrote Gyongyhaju Lany, which roughly translates as Pearls in Her Hair, when he was in the band Omega. He said it was "one of the most beloved pop songs ever in Hungary and across Eastern Europe".
The musician and composer, who began his music career during the '60s, said he was unaware his song was being used until West's lawyer emailed him soon after marketing began, indicating the star "would like to work out a deal with you as soon as possible".
Presser, who filed his legal claim on 20 May, said he was given 24 hours to respond to the email.
His complaint stated West's lawyers sent him a $10,000 (£6,850) cheque and insisted he grant a licence, but Presser added he did not cash the cheque.
"Kanye West knowingly and intentionally misappropriated [the] plaintiff's composition," the complaint said. "After his theft was discovered, defendants refused to deal fairly with plaintiff."
Rapper West headlined Glastonbury last year, and is one of the biggest names in popular music with 21 Grammy Awards under his belt and more than 11 million albums sold in the US alone.
However he is notoriously erratic and uncompromising, comparing himself to figures including Jesus and Leonardo Da Vinci, and occasionally launching into long mid-set rants.
It is the latest high-profile copyright case to make headlines - in April a US court ruled Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page must face trial in a row over the song Stairway to Heaven.
A Los Angeles district judge said there were enough similarities between the song and an instrumental by the band Spirit to let a jury decide if damages should be awarded.


A bus driver who works at Wrexham's bus station has published "stark" photographs of drug use there on social media.

Gavin Rodda posted more than 20 images of needles and drug paraphernalia as well as people apparently under the influence of drugs.
He said: "All of the paraphernalia pictured was within reach of a child."
Wrexham council said it had made "significant progress" in tackling the issue.
Talks about the issue took place between Welsh Government ministers and North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones on Monday.
Mr Rodda said in a Facebook post: "Some of these pictures are shocking but it's the reality of every day life for the addicts that use there and the mess that they leave for the public to see.
"I want people to see this and come together to find a solution to the major drug problem that Wrexham currently has. Is it really going to take a death of an addict inside the bus station to make a change? I hope not."
He said some of the needles left in the toilets had blood on or near them and reported concerns from elderly passengers who no longer felt safe at the station.
"For a lot of people, myself included, Wrexham bus station is our workplace and we feel that it is no longer safe to work in, even with the attempts that have been made to control the drug problems," he said.
"Over the past two years especially we've all seen a big increase to activity going on around the bus station.
"Measures have been put in place by the council but to date, they're not working.
"It's not just me; it's work colleagues, drivers from other companies, and also the passengers that use the bus station. We're all sharing the same concerns. It's a big issue at the moment."
Insp Paul Wycherley, in charge of Wrexham's town centre, said he had dealt with a man who seemed to be having difficulties who had just taken a product called mamba.
"It's becoming a challenge now because a lot of these people in Wrexham are actually taking these legal highs and then we're having to deal with them in this sort of condition a lot."
Hugh Jones, lead member for communities and partnership on Wrexham council, said there had been a significant increase in anti-social behaviour in the past two years.
He said: "What the photographs don't demonstrate is the significant progress that we've made with the public space protection order. There's been over 100 tickets issued.
"We're working in partnership with providers such as Cais and the the Wallich to ensure people are directed towards recovery so we're using both the law and the service providers to tackle the problem."
He added the council would be increasing security and making some changes to the design of the bus station.
Mr Jones highlighted a specific problem with "legal highs", adding the law did not allow them to tackle the problem as they would want to.
Bus station cafe owner Phil Gallanders said: "We get a lot of comments from customers saying they don't necessarily feel safe.
"A lot of people [are] feeling harassed; we get a lot of people mentioning that they've walked through and they're constantly getting asked for money."


Vincent Kompany's latest calf injury means Manchester City's defence is under scrutiny again, before Sunday's Manchester derby.

There is no question they have struggled at the back without Kompany this season, and it is a big boost for Manchester United that City's captain is out again.
That is not the only reason City are off the pace in the Premier League title race, though. By their own high standards, their attack has under-achieved this season.
Despite their defensive issues, City have only conceded a fraction more goals than in previous seasons under Manuel Pellegrini, and they are actually allowing the opposition fewer attempts at goal per game.
At the other end of the pitch, City have hit 52 goals in 29 league games - enough to make them the third-highest scorers in the top flight behind Leicester and Tottenham, who both have 53.
But they have scored 27 fewer than at this stage of Pellegrini's first season in charge, are also down on 2014-15's goal tally, and are creating fewer chances than before too.
City's mentality since Pellegrini took charge in 2013 has been 'we will score more goals than you'.
There is nothing wrong with that when you have high-quality attacking players, and it worked in his first season when they won the Premier League.
But you are not going to have the same points tally if you cannot maintain your creativity and scoring record and do not improve significantly defensively.
There are a few reasons why that has happened to City this season, and some of it was avoidable.
City's own statistics will tell them that Sergio Aguero rarely stays fit for an entire campaign, so they should have had the quality cover to replace him and his goals when needed.
They had it in 2014 when Edin Dzeko was instrumental in their title win with his form in the second part of the season.
This time around they have had to turn to Wilfried Bony, who has had his own injury problems and has not done anywhere near as well as he did at Swansea, and Kelechi Iheanacho, who has done well in fits and starts but is still only a young lad.
There have been similar problems with City's creative players - Kevin de Bruyne has been injured and David Silva and Raheem Sterling have not performed to the same levels they did previously.
Another reason they have created fewer chances is that the other teams have improved - you have to give them credit for that, but usually the top sides still find a way through.
I don't think Pellegrini has varied the way City play enough to do that, though.
They are quite one-dimensional when they come forward, which makes it easier for well-organised teams to work out how to stop them.
City occasionally go with two up front but it does not happen enough, especially away from home, where six of their seven league blanks have taken place.
City's away form is particularly worrying - they won their first three away league games of the season, but only two of their next 11.
That has undermined any chance of them building any momentum, and they have not won back-to-back league games for five months.
Under Pellegrini, City have always been a very confident side in the way they set up because, home or away, they expect to dominate teams with the attacking players and match-winners they have got.
It has not worked this season and they have found it a lot harder to score goals on the road.
When that happens, you have to be a bit more defensive-minded and tactically astute to get positive results. Instead, City have remained too open.
It does not take long for opposing teams to sense any vulnerability - to use United as an example, there is no fear factor at Old Trafford any more.
With City, especially away from home, other teams now know they are beatable - they go into games thinking they can get at them and knowing one goal might be enough to win.
How you get on against the other leading teams is usually extremely relevant - it was something Arsenal in particular struggled with in years gone by.
City are usually strong in those games, but this season they have been poor.
They have a chance to get their first win against another team in the top six when they play United on Sunday and anything else would mean their title hopes are definitely over.
Some people are saying they are finished anyway, and I agree up to a point because they would have to go on an amazing run to be champions, and their form so far this season does not suggest they are capable of it.
A top-four place is also far from secure and, with Pep Guardiola replacing Pellegrini in the summer, it would be a catastrophe for City if they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.
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For the good of the club, to keep moving forward, they will need it as a carrot to attract the top players.
They are still in it this year, of course, but when you consider the calibre of the other teams they are up against, there is no way they should be relying on winning it to make it back in.
So I would be amazed if they did not pull their finger out between now and the end of the season and get the results that cement a top-four Premier League place.
If they don't, the timing of the announcement at the beginning of February about Guardiola's appointment is no excuse.
I have been in similar situations and if anything it had a positive effect. In any case, it is naïve to think it could have been kept under wraps if the club had not made it official.
Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.


Bradley Barry scored his first goal of the season as he fired Swindon to a 1-0 victory over Port Vale at the County Ground.

Barry - the nephew of Everton midfielder Gareth Barry, who also found the net on Saturday - smashed into the roof of the net two minutes after half-time to celebrate his first senior goal.
The defeat for Port Vale ended their unbeaten start to the season and also stopped them registering a fourth consecutive clean sheet.
Swindon started the better of the two teams but had it not been for resilient defending from Lloyd Jones they could have gone in at half-time trailing.
Jones made a last-ditch tackle to block what looked to have been a certain goal from Port Vale striker JJ Hooper in the 33rd minute.
However, Port Vale switched off early in the second half to allow Michael Doughty to run down the wing and play the ball into Barry, who left Vale goalkeeper Jak Alnwick watching the ball as it soared into the roof of the net.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Swindon Town 1, Port Vale 0.
Second Half ends, Swindon Town 1, Port Vale 0.
Corner,  Port Vale. Conceded by Darnell Furlong.
Corner,  Swindon Town. Conceded by Chris Mbamba.
Luke Norris (Swindon Town) is shown the yellow card.
Corner,  Swindon Town. Conceded by Jak Alnwick.
Attempt blocked. Yaser Kasim (Swindon Town) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Darnell Furlong (Swindon Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Nathan Thompson (Swindon Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alex Jones (Port Vale).
Attempt missed. Anthony Grant (Port Vale) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Corner,  Port Vale. Conceded by Lawrence Vigouroux.
Attempt saved. Rigino Cicilia (Port Vale) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Kjell Knops (Port Vale) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Jordan Stewart (Swindon Town) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Nathan Thompson (Swindon Town).
Sam Foley (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Yaser Kasim (Swindon Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Chris Mbamba (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Yaser Kasim (Swindon Town).
Attempt saved. Yaser Kasim (Swindon Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Michael Doughty (Swindon Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Sam Foley (Port Vale).
Attempt missed. Jordan Stewart (Swindon Town) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.
Attempt blocked. Anthony Grant (Port Vale) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Jordan Stewart (Swindon Town).
Ben Purkiss (Port Vale) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Swindon Town. Jordan Stewart replaces Nathan Delfouneso.
Substitution, Port Vale. Rigino Cicilia replaces Anthony de Freitas.
Corner,  Swindon Town. Conceded by Jak Alnwick.
Attempt saved. Luke Norris (Swindon Town) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner.
Substitution, Port Vale. Chris Mbamba replaces Paulo Tavares.
Substitution, Swindon Town. Darnell Furlong replaces James Brophy.
Yaser Kasim (Swindon Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Paulo Tavares (Port Vale).
Attempt saved. Michael Doughty (Swindon Town) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Michael Doughty (Swindon Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Anthony Grant (Port Vale).
Paulo Tavares (Port Vale) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Conor Thomas (Swindon Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


Problems loading vehicles on to a new £50m ferry meant the Poole to Guernsey service on Saturday morning was delayed by 40 minutes.

Ferry operator Condor said a mezzanine ramp was fixed and the vessel departed at about 10:10 BST.
Repairs to an electrical fault on the Condor Liberation were completed earlier this week.
Last month it was put out of action on its second day in service after it struck the quayside at St Peter Port.


The new ministerial team at the Department of Health is in place - now its time to face up to what David Cameron called "down-to-earth, bread-and-butter issues" which he said his Government should focus on.

One of those is the state of the NHS and its direction of travel over the next five years.
The immediate signal from the Department is that there will be no radical change of course.  Major reorganisations similar to the upheaval seen in the last parliament are not on the agenda.
The Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt has let it be known that his focus will be on "out of hospital" care.  He used his first two years in the post to concentrate on what he saw as the urgent need to improve safety and transparency inside hospitals in the wake of the Mid Staffs scandal.  He now says there should be a push for higher standards of care for the elderly and most vulnerable patients provided by GP surgeries, community and social care.
Tackling dementia was a priority for the last Government. That is still the case. But ministers are also aware of the increasing obesity challenge to the NHS. The costs associated with treating diabetes are mounting - on one estimate around 10% of the NHS budget. Those who are overweight or obese are more at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. A new initiative in this area by the Department of Health seems likely.
While Jane Ellison remains in her post as public health minister, there are intriguing changes elsewhere in the department.
As Dan Poulter departs, Ben Gummer arrives as a new minister. He made a name for himself campaigning on behalf of Ipswich Hospital to secure a heart centre. He also pushed the Treasury successfully for taxpayers to be sent itemised statements setting out how their money is spent. Might he take a close interest in NHS spending?
The new Minister of State Alistair Burt is an old Whitehall hand, having served in John Major's Government and at the Foreign Office after the 2010 election. He has campaigned on behalf of victims of the tainted blood scandal. One of Mr Hunt's final statements in the last parliament followed the Penrose inquiry in Scotland into the use by the NHS of contaminated blood products. He said a new and broader compensation scheme for victims would be drawn up.  It may well fall to Mr Burt to see that through.
As for the opposition, its too early to say what angles will be pursued.  Andy Burnham's position is well known and he will probably continue to highlight the use of private provision in the NHS. He may be distracted for a while by a Labour leadership bid - as would shadow care minister Liz Kendall - though that could itself involve a campaign around health.
Hovering over the Department of Health is a financial shadow. The new ministers will quickly be brought up to speed by their colleagues on the short- and medium-term challenges to the NHS budget.
Health trusts have been warning in recent weeks that there is a danger of a significant deficit in the current financial year, perhaps running to £2 billion. They claim to be under massive strain and that a new cash injection from Government will be required.
For now, ministers are making clear that everything the head of NHS England Simon Stevens asked for to cover the current financial year was provided. They are in no mood to pull out the cheque book just yet and don't want to be seen to be caving in to the demands of the leading hospitals.
Summer will give way to autumn. By the time the leaves are falling from the trees, the readiness of the NHS for winter will again be high on the agenda. Claims that the service is creaking at the seams and that the money is running out will be made again. Ministers at the Department of Health will have to start thinking now how they are going to tackle that.


Fernando Torres grabbed the winner as Atletico Madrid kept up the pressure on La Liga leaders Barcelona with a win at Athletic Bilbao.

Torres struck with a first-half header, scoring for the fifth game in succession as Atletico registered a fourth straight league win.
The victory kept the visitors level on points with Barca, who thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 8-0.
Atletico lost Diego Godin after 11 minutes with a hamstring injury.
He is now a doubt for his side's next league game against Malaga this weekend and their Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich on 27 April.


Parliamentarians in Rwanda have voted to support a change to the constitution that would allow President Paul Kagame to stand for a third term in 2017.

More than 3.7 million Rwandans signed a petition asking parliament to abandon two-term presidential limit - a change that will now be put to a referendum.
Mr Kagame has always said it is up to the Rwandan people to decide.
Rights groups have accused the Rwandan authorities of silencing the opposition and stifling the media.
BBC Africa Live: News updates
Pro-government Rwandan newspaper The New Times says hundreds of people turned up at parliament on Tuesday morning to watch the debate on presidential term limits.
Those who want Mr Kagame to stay credit him with "leading the struggle to stop the 1994 genocide", it says.
On Monday, a ruling party RPF message was circulated on social media in the capital, Kigali, urging people to take buses to parliament to support Mr Kagame.
The small opposition Green Party has been the only dissenting voice calling for the constitution not to be altered to allow for a third term, and petitioning instead for a single presidential term to be changed from seven to four years.
Last month, it went to the Supreme Court to try and stop the move to change the constitution, but the party was unable to get legal representation
The party has been given until 29 July to find a lawyer to take on the case.
In neighbouring Burundi, there have been violence clashes following a decision by President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek in a third term in elections next week.
The RPF's rebel movement took power in Rwanda after the genocide in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.
President Kagame, who has won two elections, has been hailed by his supporters for driving rapid economic growth.


The end of Sunday's World Twenty20 final between England and West Indies had one of the most remarkable finishes there has ever been to a limited-overs match, let alone the final of a World Cup.

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With West Indies needing 19 runs off the last over, you would be backing England as the bowling side to win.
For Carlos Brathwaite to hit Ben Stokes for four sixes from the first four balls of that over was unbelievable.
It left England desolate and Stokes utterly devastated.
Perhaps the Durham all-rounder could have bowled those deliveries in a better place, but this is serious pressure at the end of a World Cup final. All you can do is applaud Brathwaite and admit that it was very, very special.
What Twenty20 cricket does is demand a very cool mind - an assassin's mind - because just one ball is crucial. It is such a short game and you have to be so incredibly focused.
On this day it was Brathwaite who was able to step in and bat like that. It was how maybe Viv Richards could have done it 30 years ago, but I'd be surprised if I ever see something like that again.
It was a really good game of cricket. It just goes to show what can happen with the extra tension and pressure of a final.
England were 30 runs short with their 155-9 and when Joe Root was out in the 15th over with them at 111-7, you thought that was them dead and buried.
You knew if England were going to have a chance they would have to take every catch going, get West Indies talisman Chris Gayle out straight away and be on it from the word go.
What they did was totally unexpected - beginning with Root opening the bowling.
It was almost a pride thing for the West Indies. To have Root bowling at them, they would have been wondering what was going on and they duly slogged the ball up in the air.
Stokes held two really good, really important catches out in the deep and England were away. The pressure was on.
It it is a final and it doesn't matter who you are, chasing runs to win a final brings an inherent pressure. Unless, that is, your name is Carlos Brathwaite.
This team, despite being 30 runs short, had the character to take the game as deep as they did. And they could have won it but from some outrageous hitting at the end.
England have learned that they can win a game from even the most dire of positions. Halfway through Sunday's game it was pretty dire, but they didn't give up.
They have taken a battering. The trophy was wrestled away from them in two minutes so they will be devastated.
However, those with cooler heads - head coach Trevor Bayliss in particular - will realise that they have done extremely well to even be competing in that final over and be in with a chance of winning the match.
It shows that this team has an awful lot of character.
Unfortunately for Stokes, whenever there is a World Twenty20, that final over will be shown. For as long as he is playing T20 cricket, it will be flying around. He will have to get over it.
He is a very competitive and strong-willed and he is a very talented cricket. He will get over it, but it will take a while.
Maybe one day when he is retired, he will think he has been involved in something pretty special at Eden Gardens, but it will take a long time to get there.
It is really good for West Indies cricket that their men and women have both won their respective World T20 competitions. Cricket over there is flagging and this is a real shot in the arm.
What we would all like to see is this enthusiasm for T20 cricket born again in their Test cricket.
Not many of these players play Test cricket, which is a real shame, but there needs to be this life, fun and determination in the longer form of the game.
It is down to their coach Phil Simmons to make sure this does carry over because there is nothing better than West Indies cricket when it is smiling - it is a wonderful and happy thing.
It is unique and special and it needs to thrive. They must seize the moment.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt.


Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft has made the first visit to Pluto, speeding past at 14km per second.

Earlier, the space agency released the most detailed picture yet as it hurtled towards the dwarf planet on Tuesday.
The probe was set to grab more images and other data as it passed just 12,500km from the little world at 11:50 GMT (12:50 BST).
The spacecraft is currently out of contact with Earth as it continues its observations.
But scientists already have colour data from the approach and said they might release another new picture of Pluto later on Tuesday.
Images set to be released on Wednesday will be more than 10 times the resolution of those already published.
New Horizons' flyby of 2,370km-wide Pluto is a key moment in the history of space exploration.
It marks the fact that all nine objects considered by many to be the Solar System's planets  - from Mercury through to Pluto - have now been visited at least once by a probe.
"We have completed the initial reconnaissance of the Solar System, an endeavour started under President Kennedy more than 50 years ago and continuing to today under President Obama," said the mission's chief scientist, Alan Stern.
"It's really historic what the US has done, and the New Horizons team is really proud to have been able to run that anchor leg and make this accomplishment."
Talking about the main image of Pluto that was returned just before the flyby began, Nasa's science chief, John Grunsfeld, said: "This is true exploration... that view is just the first of many rewards the team will get. Pluto is an extraordinarily complex and interesting world."
The information that has been acquired in recent weeks on approach to the dwarf world will be as nothing to the huge number of observations captured during the flyby. But scientists have already been attempting to interpret the data and images so far.
Dr Stern said: "On the surface we see a history of impacts, we see a history of surface activity in terms of some features we might be able to interpret as tectonic - indicating internal activity on the planet at some point in its past,  and maybe even in its present.
"This is clearly a world where geology and atmosphere - climatology - play a role. Pluto has strong atmospheric cycles. It snows on the surface. These snows sublimate - (and) go back into the atmosphere - every 248-year orbit."
The team also released two stretched colour images, of Pluto and its main moon, Charon.  The treatment allows scientists to discern more easily some of the differences at the surface of the bodies in terms of composition and processing.
New Horizons is investigating not only Pluto and Charon, but also the four smaller moons in the system: Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra.
To achieve that, it has had to perform a furious set of manoeuvres during the flyby, pointing every which way in the sky to lock on to the different targets.
The cheering and jubilation are phenomenal. There's a powerful sense of achievement at sending a robotic craft three billion miles to Pluto. But there's also something much more instinctive: the thrill of witnessing and sharing a great moment of discovery.
Most moving for me has been catching a few words with the son of the man who first found Pluto. Al Tombaugh is obviously delighted that a sample of his father Clyde's ashes is on board New Horizons, speeding past Pluto and now heading into the unexplored realm of the Kuiper Belt.
I asked Al if his father would have wanted to visit the tiny world. Maybe, he said, but he was always worried about the physical strain of life as an astronaut. Another thought that's very striking here today: so many scientists and engineers and technicians have had a hand in making this mission work, and their excitement is totally justified.
So what about the coming hours? No one here will truly relax until the next signals reach home as the spacecraft slips beyond Pluto.
New Horizons' call home after the flyby is due at 00:53 GMT Wednesday (01:53 BST). It will come through a giant dish in Madrid, Spain - part of Nasa's Deep Space Network of communications antennas.
This signal will contain only engineering information on the status of the probe, but controllers should be able to tell very quickly whether the flyby sequence worked properly or not.
There is a very small possibility that New Horizons could be lost as it flies through the Pluto system.
Any stray icy debris would have been lethal if it had collided with the spacecraft at its 14km/s velocity (31,000mph).
"Hopefully it did [survive]," said Alan Stern, "but there is a little bit of drama."
The first high-resolution pictures from the pass should be downlinked later on Wednesday.
The BBC will be screening a special Sky At Night programme called Pluto Revealed on Monday 20 July, which will recap all the big moments from the New Horizons flyby.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter.


A 3cm tall guide with a difference has been spotted around Leicester showing off some of its landmarks.

Lego Man is the brainchild of De Montfort University media student Hugh Beaumont who has used him to show-off more than a dozen of the city's sights.
The figure has visited the National Space Centre, Richard III centre and Abbey Park as part of the project.
"I thought it was a cool way to show off Leicester's sites online...," Mr Beaumont said.
The appearances are part of his university project looking at using social media to promote Leicester.
He added: "I am amazed that this has taken off in the way it has.  I really was not expecting it.
"The deadline line for the course is tomorrow, but it's been so much fun I think I'll continue with Leicester Lego Man."
"I have a friend who works at Leicester City Football Club and so I might contact them to see if I can get a photo at the ground.  It's really exciting," Mr Beaumont said.


Google has agreed to remove from its Maps service a satellite image that shows a dead teenager.

Kevin Barrera was shot in 2009. His body was found near a railway line in Richmond, California.
Jose Barrera told KTVU-TV he had asked Google to remove the image, which appears to show a police car and officers surrounding a body, out of respect for his son.
It said replacing the image could take eight days.
Mr Barrera said: "When I see this image, that's still like that happened yesterday. And that brings me back to a lot of memories."
Google Maps vice-president Brian McClendon said: "Since the media first contacted us about the image, we've been looking at different technical solutions.
"Google has never accelerated the replacement of updated satellite imagery from our maps before, but given the circumstance we wanted to make an exception in this case."
Google Maps uses a selection of images collected by satellite and at street level by cameras mounted on vehicles.
The satellite images tend to be between one and three years old.
Unlike for the pictures in its StreetView service, there is no facility to report satellite images.
The search giant takes a number of steps to protect privacy of individuals when collecting images for StreetView, including blurring faces and number plates.