Newcastle United 5 Cardiff City 1

Feb 7 2010 by Steve Brown, Sunday Sun

“It’s a slow process of getting Newcastle back to where they belong.

“It’s not going to happen overnight. That’s what we intend to do. To slowly build this club and get it to where it fully deserves to be.

“If we can do that in the next five years here, that will put us back on the map and it will bring superstars back to the club with European football. We want it in the DNA of the club first, to get us back up and to make sure what happened last season never happens again.

“We had a good meeting with the new players to tell them what this club is all about now, to tell them what we have set up at the beginning of the season, what we expect.

“We wanted them to buy into it, and from their first display you can see they have done that.

“Chris and Colin told them what we were about, and as a players’ committee we have given them advice on things like where to live, and we want them settled so they can get the performances on the pitch.

“It is the best camaraderie I have experienced. It is what this club needed. I don’t think it has been here for a long, long time.

“They haven’t had it since Alan Shearer, Gary Speed and Rob Lee were here. I spoke to Speedo about it and he said there is nothing better than being up here with a group of lads who are doing their best for the club. He said the fans would love you.

“The bowling was for the banter, for team spirit and to get to know the new players. We acted like kids for two hours.

“The meeting at the training ground was the basics of what we set out to achieve, what people thought would happen and how we have used that to our favour.

“We are doing well but we won’t get carried away. We have a spirit and determination to stay where we are and get promoted and we don’t want to give it up.

“We had to make new signings and fair play to Mike (Ashley) he has put his hand in his pocket and done that.”