Hard work ahead, warns Barton

Joey Barton has warned "there is a lot of hard work still to be done" before Newcastle can celebrate Premier League survival.

Barton helped the Magpies move out of the relegation zone with his first competitive goal since his release from prison in the 2-1 win over West Brom on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old, while delighted with the victory, knows there could be more twists and turns ahead and feels Newcastle must kick on - starting with the visit of Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa to St James' Park on Monday.

"As a team we want to achieve something and this win is the first step," he told nufc.tv.

"But there is a lot of hard work still to be done and there will no doubt be ups and downs.

"But hopefully we can get some decent results and bring a bit of stability to the club and climb the table.

"It only takes two or three wins and you find yourself comfortably in the top half."

Barton added: "We have to make this place a fortress.

"When the crowd come in their thousands, like they do every week, they become very vocal and this is an intimidating place to play.

"I've played here with Man City and this is not a nice place to come when you've got 52,000 Geordies roaring their team on.

"If they can guarantee us that then we can guarantee we'll put that extra effort in."