Wan-Bissaka seals West Ham win to take heat off Lopetegui

On a bitterly cold Tyneside night, West Ham finally remembered how to fight back.

- Louise Taylor

Even better for their beleaguered manager, Julen Lopetegui, a team inspired by standout performances from Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen exhibited the sort of ruthless precision strangely absent from Newcastle's game.

Expertly taken goals from Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka reinforced Lopetegui's fragile job security, lifting West Ham to 14th, three points behind Eddie Howe's team, as Newcastle's hopes of Champions League qualification sustained a dent.

Before a potentially tenure-defining match, Lopetegui took time to revisit the bronze statue of Sir Bobby Robson that stands just outside St James' Park. During his days as a goalkeeper, West Ham's manager played under Robson at Barcelona and learned a lot from him.

Three decades on and with his team three points clear of the relegation zone at kick-off, Lopetegui desperately needed to coax the sort of performance Robson would have treasured from his West Ham players here. Although the east London club rarely change managers mid-season, there were strong suggestions that the former Spain coach's future hinged on his team's performance on Tyneside and then at home against Arsenal on Saturday.