Opening goalscorer
Joey Barton was delighted with Newcastle's 6-0 thrashing of Aston Villa but insisted no-one at the club would be getting carried away.
The Magpies stunned Aston Villa with a sparkling performance, after
John Carew had missed an early chance to give the visitors the lead from the penalty spot.
But Barton opened the scoring on 12 minutes before Andy Carroll notched a hat-trick, and captain
Kevin Nolan chipped in with two goals.
The midfielder was part of the team beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford in Newcastle's opening fixture but he says no-one at the club was too concerned about that reverse. "We weren't too bothered about Monday - a lot of teams will get beaten by more than we did at Manchester United," Barton told
ESPN.
"It was important to make a statement today and now we want to carry the momentum forward. One swallow doesn't make a summer but we've got to put in the same kind of shift in our next game at Wolves.''
On his goal the former Manchester City midfielder added: "I thought I would chance my arm and it took a dip at the last minute. But three points is the important thing. We want to stabilise this club in the Premier League and we have given Villa a game today.''
Hat-trick hero Andy Carroll was understandably overjoyed after his three-goal salvo paved the way for the Magpies' impressive victory.
"It's a great feeling (to score a hat-trick). The lads worked hard and we deserved the win," Carroll told
ESPN. "Obviously people say there is extra responsibility [wearing the No. 9 shirt] but I enjoy playing football whatever number it is.''
Magpies boss
Chris Hughton said: "I watched Aston Villa last weekend and thought they were emphatic in everything they did - and we expected a tough game.
"But once we got the first goal it lifted any fears we might have had and after half-time we managed to keep it going.
"There was an intensity to our play but you have got to have goalscoring opportunities. We were able to go right through to the end and as it got more open it suited us more.''
On Carroll, Hughton added: "He is still developing but what he has is great desire and aptitude to improve. He's a bit of a throwback, a local lad and he took his goals very, very well.''
Villa caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald struggled to contain his disappointment after watching his side be destroyed at St James' Park, though he pointed to John Carew's missed penalty as a decisive moment in the match. "We started the season well last week so it's disappointing to get well beaten by a decent Newcastle side," Macdonald said.
"It might have been a bit too much playing a couple of young kids who had done very, very well... maybe I was a bit wrong with my team selection. The missed penalty changes things to certain extent.
"We started very, very brightly but it was probably the second and third goals which killed us just before half-time. Momentum is a big thing in football. The players felt hard done by at 3-0 but thought if we got next goal we could get back into the game. But it wasn't to be.''
Source : ESPN Soccernet
