Newcastle boss Alan Pardew vowed to hunt down the flair players he wants to get the crowd off their seats after watching his current crop secure their Barclays Premier League status.
A 2-1 home victory over 10-men Birmingham confirmed the Magpies' presence in the top flight for the 2011-12 campaign, their one and only mission for the season, and left the visitors close to the drop zone. But having achieved that goal with two games to spare, Pardew turned to the task of strengthening his squad armed with the £35million proceeds of Andy Carroll's January departure for Liverpool.
The manager said: "Newcastle are renowned for getting them [the fans] off their seats, and we know that's probably what is missing and is going to take us beyond where we are at the moment. That's the type of player we are looking at and hopefully we can bring one or two of those in to add to what we have got."
He added: "Overall, I am absolutely delighted with 44 points because we are in the top 10 again with two games to go and we can dream of a top-10 finish.
"I have got the owner investing at the training ground and I have got him investing in players and talking to agents and players, and I want to keep him there, so it was important to get a win.
"Now we need those three or four players."
Newcastle might have won more comfortably had it not been for the heroics of City keeper Ben Foster, who pulled off four superb saves to deny Peter Lovenkrands, substitute Nile Ranger and Kevin Nolan twice, although the game only exploded into life after Liam Ridgewell's 35th-minute dismissal for deliberate handball.
Shola Ameobi calmly converted the penalty for his ninth goal of the season and when Steven Taylor marked his return to the starting line-up with a towering 43rd-minute header, there looked to be only one winner.
However, Lee Bowyer's 45th minute strike gave the visitors hope, and they had a late chance to snatch a point when Sebastian Larsson stabbed wide after Tim Krul had fumbled Jean Beausejour's cross nine minutes from time.
But that would have been tough on the Magpies, who dominated for long periods without ever really finding top gear, only to be repeatedly thwarted by the excellent Foster.
Source: PA
