GIVEN Dwight Gayle’s scoring record over the years, he was always guaranteed to find the net in a Newcastle United shirt – but doing it on his first appearance at St James’ Park bodes well for the future.

The £10m signing from Crystal Palace pounced in the area to convert his first goal at the home of the Magpies since his switch from Selhurst Park; adding to the one he scored in Ireland against Bohemians.

It is that sort of return which Rafael Benitez is banking on when the Championship season gets underway on Friday at Fulham, knowing promotion is the only target.

Gayle is confident that will be achieved, having taken the decision to drop down to the second tier again despite finishing as Palace’s leading scorer in the Premier League in each of the last three seasons. He is convinced a quick return can be achieved after his first month in the North-East.

The 25-year-old said: “I hope we will be going up next May. I am not going to put my life on it (joke) but I think we will go up and hopefully we will show why this season.

“I was surprised when I came in just how positive everyone is around the place. It didn’t feel like a team going in to the Championship from the Premier League, there was a great atmosphere and we are all just excited for the new season. We are raring to go.

“It was a strange one to be fair because everyone has been at it in training, raring to go and everyone wants to get in the team for the season ahead. You’d never have thought this club had gone down. We also have a great manager, a great tactical manager, and I will learn a lot from him this season.”

Gayle’s rise to the top two tiers of the game stemmed from excellent form at non-league level with Dagenham & Redbridge and Bishop’s Stortford before joining Peterborough in 2013. It was shortly after that, and his record for the Posh, he headed for Palace.

But he was more than happy to accept the challenge of playing in the Championship again with Newcastle, even if he knows it will be hard for the promotion favourites to secure a quick return to the top-flight.

Gayle said: “It is a tough season, made harder by playing two games in a week, but there are some great teams in this division. I’m sure there will be some great teams fighting for promotion and it will not just be a one horse race, I’m sure. There are some great teams in this division.”

The Newcastle fans who turned up at St James’ to watch Gayle and the other five new signings in action will have been heartened by the display against Vitesse; even if more in an attacking sense than defensively.

But having pulled on the Newcastle shirt and played in front of the Geordies for the first time, Gayle is sure he made the right decision – and finding the net will have helped.

He said: “Coming to St James’ Park for my first game just showed again to me just how big this club is. It is perfect for me to be playing my football here next season.

“There are several things that made me swap the Premier League for the Championship next season. I am certain this club will only be on the up from now on and that is only going to be a positive. We have a great manager, with great experience.”

Newcastle passed the ball around neatly at times against Vitesse, who finished ninth in Eredivisie last season, and rarely looked in any trouble.

Winger Matt Ritchie, the £12m buy from Bournemouth, helped Newcastle get off the mark in the 22nd minute when his shot deflected off Kelvin Leerdam and found the net.

Fourteen minutes later Gayle made it two. The striker arrived on cue to neatly tuck away the finish after Ayoze Perez’s turn in the box led to a loose ball rolling perfectly into the path of his team-mate.

There was still time before the break for a third and it was well worked. Vurnon Anita’s reverse pass down the line sent Perez clear. The skilful Spaniard twisted and turned before picking out Jack Colback at the back post to nod beyond goalkeeper Room.

At that stage Newcastle looked in complete control and were confident in possession but Vitesse did make a game of it, even if they were helped by Newcastle’s defending at two set pieces inside seven minutes.

The first was a routine corner and Brazilian striker Nathan was on hand to tap in from under the crossbar. Then Newcastle’s defence failed to clear its lines from a free-kick on the right, so skipper Guram Kashia volleyed powerfully beyond goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Gayle, knowing Aleksandar Mitrovic is suspended for the opening few matches, said: “Most strikers want to get in the 20 goal bracket and hopefully I can do that this season. We will see where we go from there.

“We started well and got the goals in the first half, but we did concede two goals from set pieces and we will have to improve on that because we will get a lot of that in the Championship next season. We will do that on the training field and hopefully we can sort any little problems before next Friday.”

NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1): Sels; Janmaat (Sterry 74), Hanley (Gamez 62), Lascelles, Dummett; Hayden (Saivet 74), Colback (Shelvey 62); Anita (Gouffran 74), Perez (Armstrong 62), Ritchie (Aarons 62); Gayle (Mitrovic 74). Subs (not used): Darlow (gk), Tioté, Thauvin.

VITESSE ARNHEM (4-2-3-1): Room; Leerdam (van Bergen 71), Kashia, Kruiswijk, Ota, Nakamba, Baker, Qazaishvili (Foor 46), Rashica, Zhang; Nathan (Lelieveld 72). Subs (not used): van der Werff, van Wolfswinkel, Dauda, Osman, Kotte, Tornes, Houwen, Koryan, Faye.