“If you ask anybody in my position, you want to win the game however you win it.

"We’re very pleased. It’s the most important gap – on third place – and all we can do is continue to do what we’re doing and be hopeful that other results go for us. You’ve always got to look over 94 minutes and to come away with three goals at home in a very good first-half period and not to concede . . . you can’t ask for any more.

"You’ll see numerous games where a team takes the lead and the score finishes the same as it was at half-time, especially against a team in the form of Swansea. They showed it’s no coincidence they are where they are. They caused us more problems in the second half, but we defended superbly."

On Coloccini:

"I thought he was outstanding. You normally don't want that to be the case with centre-backs because it means they've been kept busy. But I thought he coped very well with the way Swansea played and always looked comfortable. He's a real class defender and I thought the man-of-the-match award was thoroughly deserved."

On Smith:

"I'm disappointed for Smudger, because it's been a really good season for him. For him to cap off the result with a goal would have been fabulous.

"He's probably run, I would think, some 60 yards to get there, and it would have been a fitting finish to the game. That would have been nice, but the most important thing for Alan Smith is his contribution to the team, and if he can add the odd goal, then the better."

On Harewood:

I'm pleased for Marlon. To be fair to him, we knew when he came he wasn't really up to speed with his fitness, but we knew he'd get stronger and fitter, but that still doesn't guarantee goals. There was a part of me that wanted him to leave him on, but the bigger part is the team. It wasn't particularly Marlon dipping in his form.

"I just wanted to bring a bit of freshness on. We were losing a fair bit of possession, and you just want a different option. Probably, at that stage, it would have been Marlon or Peter, but because of the fact Peter can drop that little bit deeper, we decided to take Marlon off."

On Harper:

“My feeling is that Steve will be okay. He just felt his back, which was starting to stiffen up. It was the right decision to take him off."

Swansea City boss Paulo Sousa said:
“We arrived here at Newcastle with a lot of hope, but it is not easy for some players to come to a stadium like this with a lot of people and a lot of support. But it has been a beautiful and fantastic experience and something we would like to achieve to play in this environment all the time.

"I don’t think that 3-0 is a fair reflection of the game. My team deserved far more than they got. But it was a good experience for us though. We started being afraid and conceded the first 25 minutes which is something we can learn from. We got better control of the game, were more like ourselves and finished the first half well.

“What we then saw in the second half is the picture I want to see in every game. We can’t be afraid to show our identity on the pitch. When we play with the right personality, we have everything else. This team just needs to be more mature. But this experience will help us be stronger in the future.

“We arrived at St James’ with plenty of hope because of everything that’s happened beforehand, but we only showed what we are capable of after that first 25 minutes. The players corrected themselves and that is a big step for the team - I’m proud they were able to do that.

“Things improved and we kept pushing. It would have helped if we had scored though, because it would have increased the belief. Newcastle are a great team and I’ve said before, they don’t have to run to win games, just walk. They had to run against us though and I’m proud of that.

"What happened here, the players being affected by the stadium, has not happened anywhere else. We have been at other grounds where teams have pressed us but we coped well. It’s not easy for some players to come to a stadium like this with so many fans. We felt that too much and it cost us.

“In terms of our personality, I haven’t felt what I felt here in other games. Even our most experienced players lost control at the start of this game. That can happen at a place like Newcastle. But it will only happen once and it was against a very strong team.