Keegan rewarded for bold approach

9:21am Monday 31st March 2008

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Newcastle United 4

Mike Ashley promised that Newcastle United's fortunes would be transformed "in the summer".

How prescient his words have turned out to be.

Yesterday marked the start of British summer time, and the Magpies duly produced comfortably their best display of the season to all but guarantee their Premier League status.

Goals from Nicky Butt, Geremi, Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins secured an emphatic 4-1 victory at White Hart Lane, completed a second successive Premier League double over Tottenham and, perhaps more importantly, took Newcastle nine points clear of the relegation zone with just six more games to play.

Summertime, and from now on in, the living will surely be easy.

It was certainly simplistic yesterday, as the Magpies trounced Carling Cup winners Tottenham with a performance of such polish and panache that it was all but impossible to imagine that Kevin Keegan's side had gone 13 Premier League games without a win before last weekend's 2-0 victory over Fulham.

With a three-pronged attack of Martins, Owen and Mark Viduka running riot against a Tottenham defence that included former Magpie Jonathan Woodgate, and the equally impressive Butt and Joey Barton comprehensively outplaying the home side's midfield, this was surely the day that Keegan's second spell as Newcastle manager began in earnest.

Whisper it, but the sobriquet of "The Entertainers" would not look out of place if the Magpies were to continue playing like this.

The euphoria that spilled from the visitors' enclosure at the final whistle must be tempered by an acceptance that 11th-placed Spurs have nothing to play for, but it would be churlish to add too many caveats to what was a thoroughly dazzling display.

From the moment Habib Beye rattled the Tottenham crossbar in the fifth minute to the point Martins nonchalantly rolled in Newcastle's fourth goal with eight minutes remaining, the Magpies successfully exorcised so many of the demons that have haunted them this season.

Solid at the back, creative in the middle and ruthless up front - this was every bit as good as the humiliating defeats to Manchester United, Aston Villa and Portsmouth were bad.

Each and every Newcastle player played their part, but much of the credit for United's startling recent turnaround must also go to Keegan.

His decision to go with a threeman attack could have been suicidal given his side's problems at the wrong end of the table. Instead, it has produced seven points from the last three games.

Yesterday's maximum haul looked likely from the moment Beye struck the woodwork. The full-back's foray down the flank looked to have ended when he over-ran the ball but, after Woodgate duly presented it back to him, he fired a first-time drive against the underside of the crossbar.

With Paul Robinson also saving well from both Martins and Barton before the tenth-minute mark, Tottenham were struggling to cope with Newcastle's willingness to throw men forward.

Typically, though, the visitors' bright opening was immediately followed by a fall.

Steve Harper had already saved from both Darren Bent and Woodgate when Steed Malbranque delivered a 26th-minute cross from the left, but he was powerless to prevent Bent heading into the bottom right-hand corner after the erstwhile England international stole ahead of Abdoulaye Faye.

Faye had been at fault for James McFadden's opener at Birmingham two games earlier, but this was more about Bent's aerial prowess than the defender's positional laxity.

The visitors were unfortunate to be trailing at that stage, but rather than retreating into their shell at the first sign of adversity as they had done in so many of the early games of Keegan's reign, Newcastle's players set about overhauling their deficit with relish.

Viduka's physical presence caused Woodgate no end of problems, and with Owen and Martins buzzing to the left and right of the former Leeds and Middlesbrough striker, an equaliser had looked inevitable long before it arrived on the stroke of half-time.

The source of Newcastle's leveller was rather less predictable, but it should not have been too much of a surprise given Butt's long-established love affair with White Hart Lane.

The Magpies midfielder, who scored the winner in last season's 3-2 victory over Spurs, grabbed his third goal of the current campaign after Woodgate failed to clear Jose Enrique's left-wing cross.

Geremi shuffled the ball back infield and, with Robinson rooted to the spot, Butt swept a low 18- yard side-foot into the bottom lefthand corner of the net.

Butt's midfield industry was a key factor in Newcastle's bright first-half display and, in conjunction with the equally impressive Barton, who maintained the improvement he had displayed against Fulham, the former England international's energy ensured the visitors began the second half just as effectively.

Barton's 20-yard drive struck the outside of the left-hand post four minutes after the restart, but the visitors did not have to wait much longer before they claimed a deserved advantage.

Woodgate fouled Martins on the edge of the area and, as Viduka moved out of the wall, Geremi exploited the subsequent gap to leave Robinson flat-footed.

The Cameroon international had scored from two set-pieces during the African Cup of Nations - after almost a full season of waiting, Newcastle supporters have now also glimpsed his goalscoring prowess.

They have also seen plenty of evidence of Owen's enduring ability in front of goal in recent weeks - no matter what might have been written in certain quarters - and the Newcastle skipper duly added a third with his first real chance of the game in the 65th minute.

Martins was the provider, cutting in from the right flank with a mixture of drive and determination, Viduka was the supplier, providing the deftest of touches to nudge the ball on, and Owen was the executioner, slipping a precise first-time finish past Robinson's left hand.

The upshot was arguably Newcastle's most impressive team goal of the season.

Owen should have added another 17 minutes from time, only to shoot wildly wide after breaking clear of the horribly out-ofsorts Woodgate, but his miss was irrelevant when Martins grabbed the goal his own dazzling display merited eight minutes from time.

The Nigerian was the only player in the Spurs half after substitute Adel Taarabt conceded possession but, after skipping around both Teemu Tainio and Alan Hutton, he calmly placed a precise finish past Robinson.

The result was Newcastle's biggest Premier League victory since the 4-1 win over Sunderland two seasons ago, and easily the most enjoyable post-match scenes of a season that has regularly been difficult to endure.

As the sun poked through the clouds, it was time to celebrate the arrival of summer.