Newcastle manager Alan Pardew praised the "electric" form of Papiss Cisse after the striker grabbed another double to propel his side to a 2-0 win at Swansea and enhance their chances of Champions League qualification.
The Senegal striker, signed for £9.5million from Freiburg in January, slotted low beyond Michel Vorm after just five minutes at the Liberty Stadium, before a brilliant chip sealed the victory with 21 minutes remaining. The goals gave Cisse a brace in each of his last three appearances, and he has now scored nine in his last eight games.
Pardew said: "We have a guy in red-hot form in Cisse and that was the difference between the sides. We weren't brilliant, we were a bit flat, but he was electric. But his form doesn't surprise us, we see him in training every day."
The victory was Newcastle's fourth win in a row, their best league run since April 2006, and moved them into fifth place in the Barclays Premier League table, just two points off Arsenal and Tottenham, who sit in third and fourth respectively.
And having seen Cisse's clinical finishing prove the difference on a day when the Magpies were starved of possession for long periods by their hosts, Pardew heaped praise on his in-form frontman.
Pardew added: "You need a bit of luck when you come into the Premier League, but he got a great first goal that has set him on the road in terms of confidence.
"He had a fantastic record in the Bundesliga with a club that were struggling, so he is no mystery. He is a player with pedigree.
"When you play Swansea you won't get 20 chances as they keep the ball so well, so the strikers have to keep their focus.
"They may get just one chance and he was focused on those two chances and did not let us down.
"His second goal, it was like a Masters golf shot. I thought it had gone over in mid-air but it had that bit of backspin on it. It was a terrific finish."
Source: PA
