YOAN Gouffran says Newcastle United couldn’t have beaten Chelsea if it hadn’t been for the club’s fans.
The transfer window signing labelled Saturday’s come-from-behind win at St James’s Park as “unbelievable” after they were willed on by a sold-out crowd.
Moussa Sissoko’s 90th-minute winner lifted the roof at St James’s Park, where supporters have been left frustrated all too often this season.
“I’ve not seen anything like this – never, not at all,” Gouffran told the Gazette.
“To have those supporters behind us was unbelievable. To see a full St James’s Park, and have those fans behind us, was just magnificent. It was beyond belief.”
Gouffran arrived at United late last month with the club just two points above the Premier League’s bottom three.
And if some fans were worried if the club’s new signings – all from French – were ready for a relegation battle, they needn’t have been given the last two gutsy performances.
“When I came to this football club the gaffer told me the most important thing was to come out fighting – there’s no other way,” added Gouffran.
“I personally don’t believe that the team or the club deserves to be where we are in the table.
“That’s what we as players remember. Most importantly, we must continue with the fight and show what playing for this football club means to the fans.”
Newcastle started positively, and the team, as at Villa Park four days earlier, the players had to earn their right to play.
“We had belief from the start – that’s the most important thing,” said 26-year-old Gouffran. “We dominated the whole game. Although we fell behind, we quickly fought back in the second half. I believe overall we gave 100 per cent. and I am so happy we won.”
The wins over Chelsea and Aston Villa have lifted United six points clear of the relegation zone.
But the club, which faces Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday, is far from safe.
“It was very important to come out fighting and show togetherness,” said Gouffran.
“Our team has bonded. When you come from another league, you need to get in straight away. There’s no time to waste.
“Most importantly we have shown we can play together and we can improve.
“We can work hard, and that’s the most important thing.”
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