EDDIE HOWE felt his Newcastle United side finally displayed their clinical streak as they recorded their joint-biggest win of the season at West Ham.

The Magpies claimed a 5-1 victory at the London Stadium as they ruthlessly exploited a series of calamitous defensive errors from the Hammers.

Howe did not feel his players produced a perfect performance despite the scale of their win, but was delighted with their effectiveness in front of goal.

Howe said: “Probably, since the World Cup, I don’t think we’ve been as clinical as we maybe were in the first part of the season. I think we’ve created a load of chances, but haven’t taken them.

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“Tonight was roles reversed really, I didn’t think we were perfect in our performance and there’s a lot to reflect on that we could have done better. West Ham made it a good game, but when our chances did come today, we took them, and that was probably the difference.”

The victory leaves Newcastle level on points with Manchester United in third position in the table, and means they have opened up a three-point gap to fifth-placed Tottenham.

Howe said: “Every positive result strengthens our position, but we’ve got huge games to come and a lot of points to play for. Nothing is going to be decided short term, but these are important wins.”