Eddie Howe paid tribute to Newcastle United s fans for their support of Sandro Tonali, who made his Premier League return in the 2-1 win over Tottenham.
Tonali came on as a 68th-minute substitute for his first league appearance since serving a 10-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
Many Italy-themed flags were on display before the game in support of the midfielder, who also appeared from the bench in the midweek Carabao Cup clash with Nottingham Forest, while a banner read: Midfield maestro from Milano .
And Howe was delighted by the Toon Army s response on the day when Alexander Isak s 78th-minute strike settled the contest.
I didn t know that was going to happen with the wall of flags, so it was a brilliant surprise, Howe said. Visually, it was incredible.
Sandro was emotional and his performance when he came on was outstanding. It was just amazing from the fans, it does not surprise me, but it s so important that the relationship between players and supporters is so strong.
It was very different to [him coming on in the] Nottingham Forest game. We were in need of a spark and I thought he gave us that.
Sandro ole, ole, ole
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
Howe also spoke of his desire to put what was a relatively subdued transfer window behind Newcastle, with the Magpies notably failing with several bids to land Crystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi.
I think it s always important to try to build momentum in your season, and it s been a turbulent time for the club off the pitch throughout this last transfer window, he added.
But that s shut now, so hopefully we can just concentrate on the football and get the players playing as well as they can.
Meanwhile, matchwinner Isak also saluted Newcastle s supporters after opening his account for the campaign to secure all three points.
It is my first goal for the season so it s a good feeling to score and get the win, he told Sky Sports.
Generally, we weren t expecting to have too much of the ball. We wanted to be dangerous on the counter-attack. It wasn t the most beautiful game from our side, but we defended really well and scored two, so that s good.
We ve always felt like we have that extra energy at home. We have spoken about using that. In the second half, when we had a bit of a dip in our performance, we got some energy. Small changes made a big difference and really helped us get the win.
