Jamaal Lascelles was Newcastle’s captain marvel for the second time in as many weeks as his second-half winner saw his side beat Stoke 2-1 and hit the heady heights of fourth place.

It was the Magpies’ third straight league win — the first time the club has recorded three back-to-back victories in the league since November 2014.

But his boss Rafa Benitez was not getting carried away. “I haven’t seen the table and I don’t want to see the table, believe me. I want to take it one game at a time and I want the fans to enjoy it and I want the players to enjoy it but we have to make sure at the next training session we start improving things and enjoying things.”