Joe Kinnear says he has reaped the bittersweet benefit of his side no longer being distracted by the FA Cup. While last week the rest of the country were experiencing FA Cup glory ... or involvement at least ... the Toon players were sat watching the TV.
Something Kinnear insists will help our cause this coming week.
Kinnear: "I never wanted to be out of the FA Cup because it's been a very long time since we won anything as a football club, but it has given us some respite.
"I never thought I'd say that as a manager, but it has.
"We've been able to give the players a bit of a rest and some of the injured ones are close to coming back into things now, which is good news.
"I've never known an injury situation like the one we've had to contend with, and it has been incredibly frustrating for everyone at the club.
"But this is a challenge and I've never shirked one of those in my life and I still believe we will get out of trouble."
The proof of the pudding is in the eating - let's see how we get on against City and the Mackems.
Six points and we will ALL be happy we're out of the cup.