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Lee Ryder

Newcastle notes: Owners embrace with Howe fans didn't see, Bruno gives kid night to remember and impressive stat

Newcastle United co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi embraced Eddie Howe after the stadium had cleared and the dust was settling on a huge victory.

The sight of the Ripon financier and her husband heading down to the dressing room area is not unusual these days at St James' Park, but after Howe had finished with his television interview duties, the co-owners met at the front of the tunnel and it was big hugs all round. This time it felt extra significant as Newcastle nudged up to 34 points.

READ MORE - There's no fear in Bruno

Some observers will stay say there is work to do, some will feel that Newcastle are safe but the view from within the club is to "keep going" and see just how much of an impressive finish United can make. A squad bonus is based on the club's Premier League position and if Newcastle beat Leicester City next weekend they could even go into the final six matches of the season fighting for a top 10 spot.

That's something that hasn't been achieved since 2018. Now wouldn't that be a story for Howe and the new owners?

Eddie Howe continues to stay cool in one of football's hottest seats

The head coach emerged after the 1-0 win over Wolves in a similar mood to last weekend's 5-1 hammering against Spurs. That tells you everything you need to know about the former AFC Bournemouth boss.

In the past certain former managers would not have been able to resist a pop at critics after some heavy criticism in the aftermath. Howe simply said in the build-up his players had to accept that.

But there was no getting carried away after the clash against Wolves, even though Newcastle are on the coat-tails of the top 10.

Howe simply said: "We'll do our best to do that (stay in touch with the top 10) but at the moment, it's small steps. "Today was a big result for us, but we have more work to do.

"We're not really looking up or down, we're just looking at the next match. "We're looking to try to maximise every game and we'll look forward to our next home game."

United keep up their unbeaten Premier League run in 2022 at St James' Park

Newcastle went into the game protecting their unbeaten run on Tyneside but were up against it as Wolves came to St James' Park on the back of away wins at Tottenham and Manchester United this season. But Newcastle took the game to Wanderers and while the visitors started to turn the screw a little after the break, Chris Wood's penalty settled the matter.

That's now six matches unbeaten at home and while Howe's team have picked up useful away wins at places like Southampton and Brentford the bedrock for top-flight survival is their form at St James'. That's now 21 points at home compared to 13 on the road.

Bruno shows he "gets it" already in celebrations after Wood's penalty strike

Bruno Guimarães has only been on Tyneside since January but he seems to understand the fabric of Newcastle United already. United are striving to make it a family environment throughout the club.

As the roof was raised following Wood's penalty and players went wild, Brazil star Bruno celebrated with a ball boy. It would have been easy to get carried away with the celebrations but the presence of mind of the midfielder handed the kid a moment he will never forget.

That's what nights at St James' Park are surely about.

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