Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew was happy to cap a difficult week with victory at Aston Villa.
There was a queue of ex-players forming to slam the way the club was being run in the aftermath of Steve Harper's successful testimonial.
Pardew said: "It is always a bumpy ride when you are manager of Newcastle.
"Our ex-players have earned the right to have an opinion about the club.
"Our players can only aspire to achieve what they've achieved.
"The most important thing is the team because it carries the banner for the club. Today we carried an offensive threat which a Newcastle team should carry."
