Eddie Howe said:

"Regardless of our opponent, first and foremost we have to get our performance right. I don't think we were far away but the result tells a different story.

"Now we get a chance to train probably for the first time in months so let's hope that makes a difference to how we look. It will be nice to build up to games, rather than just resting between games. Possibly we have suffered from the inability to train.

"I don't shy about it, I've had a lot of setbacks in my career and this is another one where I need to keep going and believing and I've always got that belief to bounce back."

Nuno Espirito Santo said:

"The credit needs to go to the boys. We haven’t been here a long time, but credit to them for their work. Congratulations to the players and to our supporters. They were amazing again and they help us so much. 

"Let’s enjoy this moment, but let’s not stop here. We know we have to rest now and there is a quick turnaround.

"I think we had a lot of chances - we were able to break the first moment of Newcastle’s press, they press very hard It requires the players to be brave and have the ball and find the right spaces, and they did that.

“We had very good spells of possession, but we defended very well too, we were aggressive in the box unlike last week. This improvement is the way we need to proceed and move forward.

It changes everything: going into the dressing room just before half-time after scoring a goal, the mood changes. The boys believe it, we had a good talk at half-time and said we want to go again in the second half. 

At the beginning of the second half, we have a fantastic chance through Morgan which gave us belief.

"The way he (Chris Wood) scored the goals was amazing. How he finished the second goal was beautiful and it’s something that I will enjoy seeing over and over again. Congratulations to Chris, but for Chris to score goals, the players have to work very hard behind him.”

Chris Wood:

"It is nice coming back to Newcastle, I really enjoyed my time here, it is a great bunch of lads and staff. We needed three points and it was fantastic for the side to get it. This is a tough place to come, the boys did extremely well."

Boxing Day saw Newcastle unexpectedly but deservedly conclude their 2023 fixture programme on a low note, as their ongoing travel sickness infected more homely surroundings.  

The super-spreader was a face familiar to Eddie Howe and his side; ex-Magpie Chris Wood returning to his old home to claim an improbable treble, 12 months to the day that he was on target for United.

Having conceded just four goals in their opening nine games here, the home defence was breached three times in barely 20 minutes - left leaden-footed on each occasion by lightning Forest breaks.

It had all looked so different when Isak converted the spot-kick he earned midway through the first period, Ola Aina clipping his foot as he tried to turn on to a fine pass from Lewis Miley.

Elanga should have played in the unmarked Wood to level in the 34th minute, but preferred to shoot and allowed Martin Dubravka to make a comfortable stop. That warning sign was unheeded.

At the other end the black and whites enjoyed spells of possession around the Forest box but failed to capitalise on that superiority - and were to be caught out spectacularly in first half added time.

Winning possession from Danilo on the edge of the Forest area, Miguel Almiron looked a certain scorer but inexplicably tried to square the ball rather than get a shot away. 

The hosts were then promptly punished as Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga dashed upfield, Wood making his way to the back post where he easily tapped home - prompting memories of a similar close-range equaliser in second half added time for Leeds back in 2017.

Incredibly, the Kiwi would haunt his old side further after the break; a pair of solo strikes giving Nuno Espirito Santo a first victory as Forest boss and extending his own unbeaten managerial run here to five games. By this point Wood was evoking recollections of Steve Bull in 1991..... 

Wood's second came eight minutes after the interval, outwitting Dan Burn before clipping the ball past Dubravka for a fine finish. With an hour gone Wood was put clear by Murillo and lashing home; VAR confirming he was onside and his side were en route to a first top-flight win here since 1988.

With Callum Wilson on to aid Isak in attack and Valentino Livramento to replacing struggling Dan Burn, Joelinton and Lewis Hall were then introduced - the latter seeing Trippier move to centre half. Despite those changes however, United couldn't force the second goal that would have raised hopes of a revival and roused a slumbering home crowd.

At the end of our tenth game in thirty days we looked a shadow of the side that dispatched Chelsea at the start of that debilitating run, bereft of both thought and energy. Aside from the penalty we never looked like scoring; visiting 'keeper Matt Turner barely tested despite a regular stream of aimless crosses into his area and Fabian Schar's off-target free kick (meaning that "Schar shank redemption" headline remains unused). 

A less congested January now lies ahead, but bringing with it a confirmed quartet of contests with their own particular challenges; trips to Anfield, wearside and Aston with a visit from Champions Manchester City in between all equally daunting in our current fettle.

It's not just on the field that our immediate destiny will be shaped next month; transfer window activity and the return of desperately-needed ingenuity in midfield areas are absolutely pivotal.

And while opinion is divided over how much of our malaise is attributable to Dubravka, his return has statistically coincided with our collective loss of form. Of all the injuries we've suffered this season, Nick Pope's feels like by far the costliest. Were it not for the stupidity of a Fulham player in getting himself sent off, we could be looking at eight successive defeats since that decisive moment. 

Howe spoke about being punished by Forest's transition but his own side's downward shift from feared force to easy target is of equal concern. Where intensity was once our identity, it's currently incoherence. Where do we go from here? The M62, with anything but hope in our hearts.

Biffa