Mauricio Pochettino thinks it was important Tottenham Hotspur erased bad memories of St. James' Park by beating Newcastle United 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs were thrashed 5-1 on their last visit to St. James' Park in 2016 and had a tough time opening Newcastle up in the early stages of their Premier League opener.
They were given a helping hand when Jonjo Shelvey was sent off for the Magpies three minutes into the second half, while Dele Alli then gave the visitors the lead just past the hour mark from close range.
Tottenham were in the ascendancy and when Ben Davies made it 2-0 in the 70th minute Newcastle had no way back.
Pochettino admits Spurs were helped by Newcastle going down to ten men as the Magpies had restricted space for his team to play, but he is in no doubt Tottenham deserved all three points.
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And erasing the bad memory of Spurs last visit was also a bonus, Pochettino feels.
"We knew how they play, so narrow and deep. It was difficult to move the ball quickly", he told the BBC.
"We had control and we were helped by the red card, but I think we deserved to win the game.
"It was not easy to find the space and create chances.
"It’s important to improve. In a stadium that doesn’t have good memories for us, it was important to win.
"If Harry Kane had scored to make it 3-0 at the end, that would have been a bit more fair", the Tottenham boss added.
Next up for Spurs is their first home league match at Wembley next Sunday, with Premier League champions Chelsea the visitors.
