Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall and, inset, the Newcastle United boss picks up the ball so his side can take a quick throw-in after James Justin knocked it out of play
Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall and, inset, the Newcastle United boss picks up the ball so his side can take a quick throw-in after James Justin knocked it out of play
Jason Tindall was serenaded to the tune of 'Last Christmas'. Geordies broke into olés as their side popped the ball around. Eddie Howe even had the luxury of taking off Tino Livramento, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak early. That's how in control dominant Newcastle United were at St James' Park.
There are sterner tests to come - not least a huge Carabao Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night - but this 4-0 win against Leicester City felt like a throwback. It had been a while since an opposition side looked quite so shell-shocked after quickfire headers from Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak put Newcastle 3-0 up with 40 minutes still to play.
It said it all that a dazed James Justin could not help but knock the ball out of play to ironic cheers after Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall harried the Leicester defender by the touchline. Eddie Howe rushed to grab the ball and handed it to Hall to deny Leicester the chance to catch their breath as Newcastle took a quick throw-in. The message was clear: Newcastle wanted more.
Another goal followed, courtesy of Jacob Murphy, who opened the scoring in the first half, as Newcastle won a game by a four-goal margin for the first time since April. That was far from a foregone conclusion before kick-off.
After all, excluding the opening day, when sides are obviously ranked in alphabetical order, inconsistent Newcastle had won just one of their previous seven Premier League games against teams starting the day in the bottom half, averaging 0.86 points per game. What a contrast to Newcastle's 1.57 points-per-game average in matches against sides who started the day in the top half.
Anthony Gordon spoke about how 'you know what you're going to get' when Newcastle take on a big hitter, but the England international recognised the opposite was true when the Magpies played sides at the other end of the table. Gordon called on those around him to 'come away from being that sort of team' - and this has to be the start.
Leicester were poor - one observer remarked it was as one-sided a game as he had seen up and down the country all season - and the Foxes are 16th for a reason. However, Leicester had made an encouraging start to life under Ruud van Nistelrooy, even bettering Newcastle's results against West Ham and Brighton. On Saturday, though, the Dutchman could not help but admit that 'the domination of Newcastle was clear'.
Newcastle had 27 shots and 53 touches in Leicester's box, and the black-and-whites limited the visitors to one measly effort on target. To think, a week previously, Newcastle conceded four at Brentford and became a 'mess' after the break in the words of captain Bruno Guimaraes. After cutting loose in the second half against Leicester, seven days on, Bruno spoke about how this win was 'big proof that this team can do big things together'.
There was certainly value in going back to basics on the training ground ahead of the game. Newcastle worked a lot on set-pieces, for instance, which paid dividends for both of the hosts' opening goals, while the Magpies were much better without the ball as they kept a first clean sheet since November 2.
There was also a change of mindset. Although Bruno revealed there were some 'strong words' between the players, following the Brentford defeat, interestingly, Howe chose not to read the riot act to a group whose confidence had clearly taken a hit. It proved a smart move.
"It was more being a support for the players this time," Howe told reporters. "Of course, I always look at my instincts, my gut feel and what the players need. Do they need some harsh words? Do they need some reality to hit them or do they need support?
"I thought this week it was about support but, also, it was to change things. We changed various things this week to try and stimulate a response and the players responded really well."
In hindsight, it is easy to forget that Newcastle made a nervy start on Saturday, but the black-and-whites quickly took control of the game and created a number of openings. The lively Anthony Gordon was the first to force goalkeeper Mads Hermansen into action after cutting inside and letting fly from inside the box. Dan Burn headed over from Gordon's cross a few minutes later. Jacob Murphy twice missed the target to loud groans midway through the first half.
It was a case of third time lucky for Murphy following a clever set-play routine straight from the training ground on the half-hour mark. Lewis Hall played the corner short to Sandro Tonali and the midfielder slipped Gordon in on the overlap. Gordon pulled the ball back across the box and there was Murphy to fire Newcastle in front.
Newcastle should have doubled their advantage in the 37th minute after Joelinton played Isak in one-on-one, but the striker could only pass the ball into Hermansen's gloves. Newcastle were not made to rue that chance, though, by a Leicester side who failed to even have a shot on target in the first half.
The message in the home dressing room at half-time was to 'try to score the second goal as quick as possible'. That is what Newcastle did after a well-worked set-piece paid off once again. There were 47 minutes on the clock when Gordon's searching free-kick was nodded back across by Hall at the back post and there was Bruno to head in Newcastle's second.
Leicester substitute goalkeeper Danny Ward's first act was to pick the ball out of the net and Newcastle were not finished yet. Far from it. Gordon slipped Hall in on the overlap just a few minutes later and the defender's cross was knocked on by Conor Coady. There was Isak, lurking, to head in Newcastle's third.
A fourth followed on the hour mark after Hall sent Isak racing down the channel. Isak drifted inside before picking out the unmarked Murphy, who drilled the ball through Ward's legs. By then, you suspect dejected Leicester would have taken a 4-0 defeat. In truth, it could have been even worse.