Head coach Eddie Howe has acknowledged that he felt a sense of relief as Newcastle United thrashed Fulham by a 4-1 scoreline on Saturday afternoon.

Despite starting the day in 10th place in the Premier League standings, the Magpies had not won a top-flight fixture since the opening weekend of the campaign.

However, that streak was categorically ended at Craven Cottage as Newcastle put four past the in-form Cottagers, who were not helped by Nathaniel Chalobah's eighth-minute red card.

Nevertheless, the visitors were able to show a ruthless streak as Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron and Sean Longstaff all got on the scoresheet during the first half.

The latter added his second after the break, but Newcastle were denied a clean sheet when Bobby Decordova-Reid netted a consolation goal for Fulham during the closing stages.

Despite the disappointment of conceding a late strike, Howe was delighted with the triumph in the capital, admitting that he had felt the gap in between successes.

Speaking to BBC Sport, the Englishman said: "It has been a long time coming. We have had a long wait for the second win of the season.

"Right from the start we had a good feeling, with good energy, and created chances early on. Obviously the red card made it easier but I am very pleased with the players' response. Their attitude - we wanted more, we weren't happy with what we had, always trying to score.

"It's been a very difficult two weeks, obviously we have had the international break with players going away, but we have also had a bit of illness in the camp, so it's been a mixed two weeks but it didn't show in our performance."

Wilson had been absent since sustaining a hamstring injury in August, having to watch on from the sidelines as Alexander Isak made a promising start to life at St James' Park.

However, with the club-record arrival absent through a minor fitness issue of his own, the England international took his chance on his first outing back in the team.

Talking to the same outlet, Wilson added: "There was an embarrassing miss from me at first, showing a bit of rust, but I was happy to get on the score sheet.

"When you are out injured you are very disappointed, obviously, but you can't feel sorry for yourself. You try to pick yourself up, work hard on your rehab and today I was able to help the team get three points."

Newcastle, who have moved into seventh spot in the table, are next in action when they play host to Brentford on October 8.