THE last time Mike Ashley drew attention to himself in London, he was stood outside the Golden Lion pub in Soho, apparently making unguarded comments about Alan Pardew’s future ahead of the visit to Stoke.

A month on and the Newcastle United owner appeared to be in a very different mood as he applauded Pardew’s side off the pitch at White Hart Lane following the club’s first away win since March.

Just 45 minutes earlier, it is likely Ashley’s mood was very different. Pardew’s certainly was.

A dismal first half performance had seen Pardew’s side fortunate to retreat to the dressing room trailing by just one goal, an 18th minute header from Emmanuel Adebayor.

By rights, Tottenham should have put the game beyond reach after completely bossing the opening period.

And even though they had failed to translate their dominance into more goals, there was little to suggest Newcastle had it within them to force a way back into the game.

As it turned out, it took just six seconds for the visitors to assert themselves through Sammy Ameobi’s equaliser.

And once on level terms, Pardew’s team grew in confidence, establishing a 57th minute lead via the head of the impressive Ayoze Perez and from that moment it was Tottenham who were guilty of wilting in the face of more determined opponents.

There was no shortage of people queuing up to claim credit for the transformation.

Pardew revealed he had delivered some home truths at half-time and without detailing explicitly what he said, the tone of his message was clear.

The manager also admitted the sports science department were claiming credit for the on-field drill the players performed before the restart to sharpen bodies and minds.

And Ameobi, introduced along with Remy Cabella as one of two substitutes at the interval, chipped in to reveal he had instructed jack Colback to anticipate his run and play the ball inside Tottenham right-back Eric Dier from the kick-off.

No matter arguing about the details, the important thing was Ameobi’s goal provided the instant lift that was required to lift spirits after a demoralising opening 45 minutes.

Tottenham, of course, came into the game on a high after the 5-1 thrashing of Asteras Tripolis in the Europa League on Thursday.

Not only had they won comfortably, Erik Lamela had produced a goal that left White Hart Lane at first stunned and then ecstatic and introduced ‘rabona’ into everyday conversation.

But there were signs in that win of the weaknesses that Newcastle would expose in the second half.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino had criticised his team for conceding when they were 5-0 up midweek, accusing them of a lack of concentration.

And that same lack of concentration resurfaced when Ameobi caught out Dier and set his side on course for a victory that lifted United out of the bottom and ensured the progress amde against Leicester last weekend was not wasted.

Before that, Pardew had any number of targets for a blistering half-time team talk.

Perez worked hard in the lone striker role before the break and Moussa Sissoko did his best to support him.

And the back four stuck to their task well although Dright-back Daryl Janmaat had his hands full whenever Danny Rose, the Spurs left-back, advanaced beyond Gabriel Obertan.

Obertan was one of those to make way at half-time along with Vurnon Anita, and neither player had grounds for complaint.

Ameobi came in on the left, allowing Yoan Gouffran to switch to the right where he did a more effective job of protecting Janmaat.

And Cabella slotted in behind Perez, with Sissoko dropping back alongside Colback.

That allowed the France international to exert and greater influence on the game and his powerful forward runs ultimately led to the winning goal.

Sissoko drove forward to the left hand side of the Tottenham box and laid the ball off to Cabella.

Weighing up his options, the substitute picked out Perez who showed the same power and agility as Aadbayor to rise above the defence and head home.

From that point it was all about composure and Pardew could have no complaints with the way his side responded.

Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini grew in stature and left-back Paul Dummett blocked Tottenham’s route forward down the left.

Colback and Sissoko maintained a formidable shield in front of the back four and Cabella might have added a third when he fired into the side netting from a tight angle in the 65th minute.

Pochettino introduced Harry Kane – scorer of a hat-trick on Thursday, yet overshadowed by Lamela – in a bid to spark life into his attack.

The England under-21 international made an impact, drawing a save from Tim Krul before whipping in a dangerous low cross that flew across the face of the Newcastle goal.

But there was no late rally from Spurs, no desperate, last-ditch defending from the visitors in the final moments.