Alan Pardew told the Chronicle: “It was a great win for the football club and a great win for the city.
“It was a great win for the area too.
“Sunderland got a draw and I hope they are safe. We want to play them next year.
“I was aggrieved about some decisions – especially the goalie.
“You have to be right with those decisions. It was definitely a borderline decision.
“With 10 minutes to go of a game of that magnitude? Blimey, you can’t make that call. But he did.
“Luckily for us we had Harps, who came on as if it was a Sunday afternoon and he was going down the pub with his dog.
“That calmed everybody. It certainly calmed me down.”