Hughton refuses to get carried away

Published: 18 Mar 2010 - 06:51:05

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A comfortable 3-0 victory at St James' Park put the Magpies 12 points clear of third-placed Nottingham Forest with a game in hand and effectively needing a maximum of five wins from their last 10 Championship games to go up. Hughton, whose side is also four points better off than West Brom in second having played a game fewer, said: "It's a wonderful position that we have worked hard to put ourselves into. "We always knew the most important gap was between first and third, and we have worked hard to be able to do that. "With the staff we have got and the playing staff we have got, I don't see that being a difficulty, bringing them back down to earth. "It's probably understandable that people outside the club and maybe supporters will think that, but it won't be a difficult job with this group of lads." Striker Andy Carroll set the ball rolling with just 10 minutes gone with a bullet header from Danny Guthrie's corner as Newcastle tore into relegation-threatened Scunthorpe. Peter Lovenkrands hit the bar from close-range and goalkeeper Joe Murphy clawed away another Carroll effort before the Dane added a second with a deft 22nd-minute finish from Wayne Routledge's through-ball. Murphy gave the visitors a glimmer of hope with a point-blank block from Lovenkrands five minutes later, but he was beaten for a third time 10 minutes after the break when Carroll lifted a shot over him after running on to Guthrie's long ball. Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez also had goals ruled out for offside either side of half-time, and although Scunthorpe rallied late on, the points were safe. Carroll and Lovenkrands are now locked together on 14 goals in the race for the title of leading scorer with Nolan just one behind, and Hughton is hoping that battle will serve a purpose at Newcastle prepare for away games at Bristol City and Doncaster. He said: "For me, it doesn't really matter who scores, but I know it matters to them." Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins, who revealed he tried to sign Carroll on loan earlier in his career, admitted the forthcoming home clashes with fellow basement boys Plymouth and Peterborough over the next week were always the priority. He said: "That's a Premier League side you have just seen out there, end of story, so we don't need to get too disillusioned about the result because that is a Premier League side and a very, very good one. "We play Plymouth at home on Saturday followed by Peterborough at home on the Tuesday, and we have got to look at the big picture. "The big picture is making sure we stay in the division."