Source: Daily_Mail
Darlington 2 Newcastle 7: Goal rout can't disguise comic kit and boardroom mess
Newcastle's caretaker boss Chris Hughton has ordered his players to forget about the turmoil off the pitch and concentrate on the start of the new season.
The Magpies cruised to a 7-2 friendly victory over League Two Darlington, three weeks before their Coca-Cola Championship campaign begins at West Brom.
Alan Smith takes on Darlo's Dean Windass
Yellow peril: Alan Smith takes on Darlo's Dean Windass
They did so with managing director Derek Llambias among the crowd as efforts to sell the club continued behind the scenes with a series of potential buyers yet to come up with the £100million owner Mike Ashley wants.
The travelling fans among a crowd of 6,698 repeatedly sang the name of manager-in-waiting Alan Shearer, and were equally vociferous in their chants against Ashley.
Llambias, who was unaware that a pair of underpants had been thrown in his direction by a disgruntled fan at one point, said after the game: "We are trying hard. There is serious interest and it's a case of first past the post."
While Ashley, Llambias, Shearer and the Toon Army await developments, Hughton has been handed the task of preparing the team for the season, and he has been delighted with the way they have managed to put all the speculation surrounding their club and their own individual futures out of their minds.
He said: "There are enough people discussing it and as it gathers more momentum, it will be more in the press and on television.
"Their escape from it all is where it should be, on the football pitch.
"We will just get on with the business in hand. We are very much working from day to day, waiting to find out what will happen.
"All we can affect is what goes on on the training pitch and on the football pitch."
Goals from Damien Duff, Kevin Nolan and a Shola Ameobi double either side of a penalty from 40-year-old Dean Windass gave the visitors a 4-1 half-time lead.
Hughton made seven changes at the break and Jonas Gutierrez and Steven Taylor made it 6-1 before Windass' second and Andy Carroll completed the scoring.
The caretaker was happy to have emerged from the game with a decent performance and no serious injuries, and although there is no certainty of all those players being available on the first day of the season, he admitted he would be confident of a positive start if they were.
He said: "We have certainly got a good enough squad and a good enough team to acquit ourselves very well in this division, that I have got no doubts about.
"If that's what we have come the first day of the season, we would be delighted."
However, there was one blackspot for Hughton as his side, having used all of their substitutes, was forced to play the final 27 minutes with 10 men after half-time substitute Nicky Butt went off with a thumb injury.
Hughton said: "He has partially-dislocated his thumb which, in injury situations, is not a particularly serious thing.
"He has gone to hospital and normally what will happen is they will put it back in. It will be quite painful, but I would think he would be training in the next few days.
"He's tough boy Nicky and if anything, he would have stayed on. But we have to do things right and I am sure it will be okay."
Meanwhile, Hughton revealed that French defender Sebastien Bassong, who was not in the squad, could play at Leyton Orient next weekend but like striker Obafemi Martins, is not expected to be included for the midweek trip to Huddersfield.
He said: "He [Bassong] was one who came back later than the others because he was away with the Cameroon side, so it was just a precaution with him."
