AS far as Glenn Roeder is concerned, nothing has changed. He continues to claim he only expects to be Newcastle United's manager on a temporary basis while chairman Freddy Shepherd searches the globe for a permanent boss.

But, having extended an unbeaten run since taking charge to six matches with a comfortable victory over Bolton, there is no longer the urgency within the boardroom to make an appointment for the sake of it.

After all the perfect man could already be at the helm.

It is no secret that Martin O'Neill, the former Celtic manager, remains the top target but nothing is likely to happen until the summer, if at all. By that time, under the guidance of Roeder, Shepherd may have little option but to give it to the club's former captain.

Only six matches into his tenure and he already has the fanatical St James' Park following worshipping the work he has done in such a short space of time.

Imagine his profile on Tyneside if Newcastle were to climb into the top six and reach an FA Cup final.

And, tellingly, where Roeder initially dismissed any suggestion of him stepping back into senior management there is now a pause, a smile and a remark that normally goes something like: 'Nothing has changed'.

But, after enjoying hearing his name echo around the stadium on Saturday, there is certainly a swing towards the temptation of throwing his hat into the ring - something that could inevitably lead to him getting the job full-time if the current run of form is maintained.

"I will do the senior job as long as the chairman wants me to," said Roeder. "If he said 'we will have to manage until the end of the season' then I will if the club needs me. He is not going to say 'have it for five years'.

"If the chairman turns up with another name that's not mine then I hand the reins back knowing I have done a good job. I have been spoilt working with this quality of players. There's no doubt about it."

During his near two-year stint in charge at West Ham, he went from being regarded as one of this country's brightest young managers to a flop at a time when his life was on the line after suffering a brain tumour.

Over the course of those two seasons he accumulated more points than Alan Curbishley at Charlton, Sam Allardyce at Bolton and Steve McClaren at Middlesbrough. But relegation to the Football League with 42 points cost him dear.

Nevertheless Roeder realised he had the ability to manage and it has all come back to him at Newcastle, where he has transformed ailing fortunes into genuine optimism in an instant.

A lot has been made in recent weeks of the defence being more organised and disciplined and it is true that that is major factor in the turnaround in results.

But Roeder has managed to bring the best out of a midfield quartet that, on paper, is one of the best in the Premiership and more than capable of damaging the best teams around.

Instead of trying to stick square pegs into round holes, for example playing striker Shola Ameobi on the left wing, Charles N'Zogbia and Nolberto Solano provide width, Scott Parker spreads possession while the skillful Emre is free to wreak havoc.

Not rocket science, but effective. And against Bolton it was in this area where the game was won, with both Parker and Emre running the show in the middle and the two wingers tormenting full-backs Joey O'Brien and Ricardo Gardner.

Newcastle's central midfield pairing combined to create the first real chance of the game. Parker's grit won possession, a simple pass inside to Emre followed and his exquisite shot from the outside of his left boot rebounded off the inside of Jussi Jaaskelainen's right post to safety.

Bolton hit a post themselves when Kevin Nolan's volley from close range was deflected off the revitalised Robbie Elliott and onto the woodwork, but from that point the Magpies took command.

Just after the half-hour mark Solano delivered a wonderfully precise free-kick from 25-yards past Jasskelainen to his right.

Then on the stroke of half-time the Finnish goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the net again.

This time he failed to stop Alan Shearer's back post header, after N'Zogbia's clever delivery, from crossing the line.

Bolton boss Allardyce, many people's favourite to land either the Newcastle or England job after the World Cup, tried to change things after the restart but to no avail.

Shearer's bullet-strike, as he looked for goal number 11 of the season, was tipped over by Jaaskelainen and from the resultant corner Newcastle went three up.

Solano's dead-ball was half cleared as was N'Zogbia's second attempt but only to Emre on the edge of the area. His volley rolled into Ameobi's path and he took a touch before picking his spot into the bottom right.

It was job done, although Newcastle, just four points off the top six, did lose the momentum. Bolton claimed a consolation when Radhi Jaidi's goal-bound header was forced over the line by Kevin Davies, who had otherwise been completely controlled by Jean-Alain Boumsong and Elliott.

Goalkeeper Shay Given made an exceptional save from Henrik Pedersen that could have made things interesting but Newcastle deserved the points and condemned Bolton to their first Premiership defeat in eight games.

What now for Roeder?

"This run has bought the chairman some time. He does not have to rush into making a quick appointment because the ship has definitely been steadied," he said.

"I genuinely believed when I looked at the fixtures when I took the reins that we could win all of those fixtures we have.

"We have to get back to reality and we have to be higher up the table than we are now.

"But we can go to Manchester United next weekend confident, something this set of players wouldn't have done not so long ago."