Boss and fans finally singing the same Toon?
IT'S taken a long, long time.
But just maybe, Chris Hughton is finally winning a place in the hearts and minds of the St James's Park faithful, as shown by the reluctant wave he gave those high in the Level 7 corner.
Saturday saw Hughton's Newcastle United side cement their position at the top of the Championship with a comfortable 3-0 win over Preston North End.
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And, significantly, the game also saw Hughton's name sung from the terraces for the first time.
Hughton, clearly, hasn't yet found favour with every fan, his cautious approach on the field, and guarded demeanour off it, rubbing more than a few up the wrong way.
But he, and his team, are making steady progress, and they're in a position with around a third of the season left that supporters could have only dreamed of last summer when the club was in disarray, and players were seemingly queuing up to leave.
And some of those that left – Habib Beye, for example – must be wondering if they made the right move, such is the job Hughton has done at St James's Park.
Beye, an automatic choice at United, is now a benchwarmer at Villa Park, the good work he did on Tyneside blemished by his readiness to walk out in the wake of relegation.
Others stayed and fought, among them yesterday's scorers.
Peter Lovenkrands – who eventually returned to Newcastle after a brief spell as a free agent – got them off to the perfect start with a cross-turned-shot which floated into the top right-hand corner in the third minute.
Lovenkrands limped off soon after, and Alan Smith, still looking for his first United goal, came close to adding a second before the half was out, Andy Lonergan tipping his drive wide.
Instead, Kevin Nolan, a player who had more than most to prove to the club's fans this season, made it 2-0, exchanging passes with Smith before slotting past Lonergan for his 12th goal of the season.
And Ryan Taylor – who, like Nolan, struggled to make an impression after joining the club in January last year – came off the bench to score for the second time in a week, smashing home from a Fabrice Pancrate cross.
Job done – it wasn't spectacular, but it was enough, the result extending a season-long unbeaten record at St James's Park.
The performance didn't quite match that against Coventry City in midweek, and the scoreline was maybe harsh on an industrious Preston, but you always felt Newcastle could have stepped things up had they needed to.
Hughton, typically, wasn't getting carried away after the final whistle, not even by the bond which is developing between him and the club supporters.
"It's nice, but in all honesty, it's not something that concerns me," Hughton told the Gazette.
"The most important things are them getting behind the team, and turning up like they have done.
"They were outstanding again – almost 46,000 – in a week where we've had two games.
"We just hope we can keep it going for them. Any sort of recognition is for the team, really.
"I think it's a reflection on how well we've done. I have to keep saying it's not something that concerns me, they just need to keep doing what they've been doing."
However, he knows the more waves he gives this season, the more results his side will have picked up.
Follow Gazette Newcastle United writer Miles Starforth on Twitter here
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Weather for South Shields
Saturday 11 February 2012
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