Palace 0 Newcastle 2

Newcastle are second in the table and Hughton feels that, with a couple of additions, they can mount a genuine bid to bounce back to the Premier League.

'We are not far off. We have quality here,' said Hughton.

'The decision the club have to make is whether it is enough to compete if we pick up a few injuries - there will be a time when we are stretched.'

Steven Taylor played at Selhurst Park despite being linked with Everton this week, and Hughton is hopeful of keeping hold of the centre-half.

Hughton's own future remains up in the air, but the former Tottenham defender will keep running the ship until he is told otherwise.

'I'm hoping we don't lose any more players but that is something that will only be determined over the next week,' he added.

'At this moment we are waiting for a decision to be made on whether the club is sold, or what will happen if the club is not sold.

'I'm very happy to be in this position and very happy to do this job for as long as I am asked to.

'It's not about me putting down a marker for the job, it's about winning games for this club and the players have responded.'

Resplendent in their custard yellow away shirts, the Magpies got off to the perfect start when Kevin Nolan tucked his first goal for the club through the legs of Darryl Flahavan after just two minutes.

And they were 2-0 up and cruising when Ryan Taylor opened his account with a stunning 25-yard curler 20 minutes later.

Palace had their chances, with Steve Harper saving from Freddie Sears and Darren Ambrose, while manager Neil Warnock pointed to a penalty claim early in the second half when Alan Smith felled Alassane N'Diaye, which was waved away by ref Andy D'Urso.

'Smithy was all over Alassane and anywhere else on the pitch that's a foul, but that ref has never given me much over the years,' said Warnock.

'We never really gave ourselves a chance. The goals were a disgrace at this level but you get punished by good players.'

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