"I didn’t think we got to the levels we did at the weekend but the disappointing and frustrating thing for us is that after getting in front and not seeing it through.

"The one thing we have been good at is seeing it through and to give a poor goal away like we’ve done, we’ll analyse that again.

"To give a soft goal, that’s the frustration because we haven’t hit the heights of what we did at the weekend. We had a great chance at winning the match and didn’t see it through.

"I think when you watch all of the games the one thing we all are doing is using the substitutes.

"It’s difficult times, we must not forget that the players, yes we’ve been training to a degree, haven’t been doing a lot for three months.

"Treadmills, running on streets and in the park is not the actual thing of playing physically in a football match.

"It’s better than nothing so let’s try and enjoy the rollercoaster along the way and I think we are going to see a lot of games like that and we already have.

"Of course I think a lot of El Mohamady... but maybe I should have left him in Egypt all those years ago!

"How often does it happen? But we’re disappointed in the nature of it. It’s the first goal we’ve conceded in five games, so to not see it through and concede a goal like that, we’ve got to be disappointed.

"If someone had said in these awful times we’d have taken four points from our first two games back, I would have accepted it, but we’re disappointed we didn’t see it through.

"We have a great opportunity to push on a bit now. Can we push on and catch the teams above us and finish the season looking upwards, rather than just looking over our shoulders?"

On Carroll and Gayle:

"All of the squad are going to be important because we’re going to pick up a few niggles. It’s great to have the two of them available.

"I’ve said all along with Dwight, week after week, that it would be great to have him back fit. It’s exactly the same with Andy.

"They’ve both been plagued, but hopefully the three months off has done them the world of good. I was delighted with the way they linked up.

"All through his career, we’ve always known Dwight was a goalscorer. I’m pleased for him tonight.

"I’ve said on record that I’ve tried to buy him three times. If you’re looking in the Championship, the first one on your list was always Dwight Gayle because of his natural finishing.

"I was disappointed when I came in over in China and he got injured. I’ve said all along that I want him to stay fit because as you saw with the way he scored his goal today, he’s got that crucial thing of being able to score.

"He’s got the knack, and when you’ve got that, it’s invaluable. Let’s hope he stays fit.”

On Hayden and Ritchie:

"They’re both soft tissue (injuries). We’ll have to wait and see, but the pair of them are genuine and honest, so for them to come off…

"We hope we’ve caught it and it’s more precautionary, but of course you have to err on the side of caution and we’ll have to see how they are.

"We hope some of the niggles are just a bit of fatigue but we'll see how they are over the weekend."

"We were making that change to get two up front with Ally and Keinan, we just felt that would be the way forward with Jack playing off them, and that’s the way it ended up going at the end of the game.

"I thought we threw everything at them, we showed lots of quality, thankfully Elmo has popped up with a goal from a great corner from Conor.”
 

A late lapse in concentration by Newcastle denied them their third successive league victory on Wednesday, after Dwight Gayle had put them ahead.

Leading 1-0 with just seven minutes of normal time left, Jonjo Shelvey and Martin Dubravka each left Ahmed Elmohamady's near post header from a corner to each other, gifting Villa a deserved point as a result.

The identity of the scorer was only too well known to Magpies boss Steve Bruce, who added the Egyptian defender to his squad during his time in charge of the mackems, Hull City and Villa.

Elmohamady's first Premier League goal since 2015 was a fair return for his side, who made and missed a trio of decent first half opportunities without actually requiring Dubravka to get his gloves dirty.

The hosts meanwhile made their usual sedate start to proceedings, taking 43 minutes before visiting custodian Orjan Nyland was tested by Matt Ritchie. 

Newcastle's lineup was unchanged from the one that had scored three goals without reply against Sheffield United, but by the mid-point of the second half the manager was looking to his bench for some scoring inspiration.

Off went Joelinton - unable to anticipate one inviting ball across the area from Allan Saint-Maximin during the first half, but did look set to score moments later before Tyrone Mings whipped the ball off his foot.

The Brazilian was replaced by Andy Carroll, before a limping Ritchie made way for Gayle - and immediately the replacements combined to great effect.

Javier Manquillo's throw-in on halfway caught defender Matt Targett out and Carroll was able to sweep over a fine low cross from the right for Gayle to fire home his first Magpies goal in over two years.

With scores elsewhere at the wrong end of the table going their way, Villa kept pushing in search of an equaliser and eventually two of their substitutes did the damage - helped by our generous defending and increasing fatigue.

Dean Smith's men forced several more corners during five additional minutes but United held out to make it four league games without defeat - moving on to 39 points; 12 clear of the bottom three with seven left to play.

In addition to being as near as dammit to ensuring our top-flight survival, that tally is actually our best after 31 Premier League games since 2014 - and four points more than the 35 Bruce's predecessor had managed by that point in his last two seasons.

Attention now switches to Sunday's FA Cup Quarter Final home tie against Manchester City, but there are concerns over the fitness of Ritchie and Isaac Hayden after both were forced off tonight.

Our chances of knocking the cup holders out look to rest squarely on the shoulders of Saint-Maximin, who played the full game tonight but was running on fumes for the last 20 minutes.

While he was our main threat against Villa, Miguel Almiron never really troubled the visitors and frustratingly dwelt on his best scoring chance at 0-0, rather than just putting his foot through it.

Fitness issues rather than selection preference may determine the choice of team that faces City, with a marathon trip to Bournemouth less than 72 hours later. Gayle's reminder of his predatory skills could be very timely.

Biffa