Newcastle United picked up a vital three points on Saturday afternoon, beating relegation rivals Southampton 3-0 at St James’ Park.
Before kick off it was a crucial relegation ‘six-pointer’, with victory allowing Newcastle an opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone.
If they had lost, Rafa Benitez’s side would be even further in trouble, and preparing for a three week period without a game that would see tensions rise even further on Tyneside.
Fortunately for the Magpies, they were able to dispose of a woeful Southampton side with ease, with a Kenedy brace and Matt Ritchie giving Newcastle their biggest win of the season since they beat West Ham at home right at the start of the campaign.
With another three points on the board, Newcastle have now put themselves in a commanding position, sitting five points above the drop zone, with Stoke City set to play, and hopefully lose to, Manchester City on Monday night, which would keep the gap at five points.
Newcastle seem like a club with things very much under control right now, which cannot be said for teams around them such as West Ham and Southampton.
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Our next game sees us welcome Huddersfield Town to St James’ Park, which is another chance for Benitez’s men to coast towards survival.
Results went our way this weekend, meaning the pressure is slightly off those in black and white, and the task of survival is very much in their hands.
With home games to come against Huddersfield and West Brom before the season is out, Newcastle have great opportunities to put this relegation worry to bed and prepare for another season in the top flight of English football.
Are Newcastle safe yet? Absolutely not, but they have put themselves in a position where we would need to see a severe collapse for the Magpies to be playing Championship football next season.