Manchester City 2 Newcastle 1

[telegraph.co.uk report, bbc sport report, times online report, nufc blog report]

An important win given there was a need to refocus on on-field events given much of the focus has been on off-field issues oflate.

The three points wasn't unexpected of course, but although Newcatle were there to be beaten it was still key that we picked up the win. In doing so, we stretch our unbeaten run to four games and move into the top half of the table and only four points from seventh position.

January is a key month in terms of a potential points return and with Stoke to come on Saturday, another three points could really set us up for the remainder of the campaign and hopefully silence those amongst the press who still view us as being involved in relegation battle.

Both Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong started in an unsurprising line-up, and both had solid debuts with Bellamy capping off a lively evening with a goal. De Jong's presence in midfield saw Vincent Kompany - captain in Richard Dunne's absence - slot into defence and Pablo Zabaleta, again impressive, continue in his new midfield role.

Looking at the line-up, what was interesting is that it featured a majority of Hughes signings and what is clear is that the January signings have undeniably improved the sqaud and given us a far more solid look.

Decide conceding a late goal to take a little of the gloss of the victory, the performance was good. As Hughes said after the game, some of our movement and inter-play was excellent (Robinho in particular) and a definite improvement on some of what has been on display this season.

Stiffer tests undoubtedly lie ahead, but there are small steps being taken at the moment and if anything, the recent pounding we have taken in the press may just have galvanised the club at a crucial time.

With a couple more reinforcements still expected to arrive before the end of the month, things could be beginning to look up even further.