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Newcastle United’s win over Chelsea was massive – it was one of the best results in Mike Ashley’s reign at the club.

The players were outstanding and the best thing about it, they deserved the victory.

They battled for every ball and they worked hard for each and every single one of their team mates and it is a credit to them all.

I was in New Zealand back in pre-season, I knew the team spirit was there and talk of Alan Pardew losing the dressing room was nonsense and the results the team are putting together now are testament to that.

First and foremost huge credit must go to Alan Pardew – on Saturday he got his tactics spot on and he came away with a huge win.

Alan went down to see how Chelsea played against Tottenham and credit to him for the way in which he prepared for the match.

Alan, his staff and the whole team were great in the build-up to the game, they prepared well, got their tactics spot on and I genuinely believe they went in to the game believing they could get a positive result.

I thought that a draw would be a good result and a win would be a bonus but after seeing it they fully deserved the victory.

All the players were willing to sacrifice their own game for the United cause.

Ayoze Perez in particular worked incredibly hard on the wing and tracked back defensively – that was part of the plan and he stuck to it well.

Daryl Janmaat, again superb, Jack Colback, doing what Jack Colback does – he’s a solid seven or eight out of 10 every week.

Fabricio Coloccini was back to his best and Moussa Sissoko was an absolute powerhouse.

Sissoko, who has been fantastic so far this season, reminds me of Patrick Vieira. When he picks up that ball and drives at players he’s almost unstoppable.

What can you say about Papiss Cisse? Cisse did what he does best, which is come on and score goals. Every time he’s on the pitch at the moment you expect something good to happen.

And young Jak Alnwick, what a day to make your debut.

Just imagine, he’s there twiddling his thumbs on the bench and then he’s told “go on son, go make you’re debut against one of the best teams in Europe”. Fantastic for a young player to get that experience and he handled himself excellently.

The only disappointing thing from the game was Sissoko’s booking, which means he’ll miss the trip to Arsenal.

The red card for Steven Taylor was a shame for Steven but the absence of Sissoko next weekend will be a big one.

However the unity, the team spirit and the togetherness they’ve shown this season could prove invaluable if they are to get past the Gunners.

Regardless of how the Arsenal game goes, Alan Pardew deserves the plaudits for the recent run of results.

The loss to West Ham was tough and then to go to Burnley in mid-week was a very tricky fixture.

A point from Burnley and then three against Chelsea shows that they’re able to pick themselves up after one defeat and get back to putting in good performances – that’s what we want to see from Newcastle United.