Our patience paid off, says Mo

The Spaniard’s first goal for United came just four minutes from time at St. James’ Park, lifting Rafa Benítez’s side up to seventh in the Premier League table.

Diamé appeared as a second half substitute against the Eagles as the Magpies sought a winner.

And after it had finally arrived, the Senegalese midfielder praised the way his team went about breaking down a stubborn Palace side.

“It was a great feeling. It wasn’t an easy game - we knew that Palace would come here with a lot of confidence after their win against Chelsea, so we knew it would be a hard game,” he told nufc.co.uk.

“But the team managed well. We had some chances, they had some too, but at the end we were still pushing. The team did well, kept the faith until the end and we got this win - an important one.

“They were strong and compact. We know that the defence is really strong and it wasn’t easy to break them, but we just kept pushing. We had good quality in the set pieces, and this corner came at the right time, and Mikel headed the ball very well.

He added: “We had to be patient, but patient while having a good tempo. You need a good tempo all the time, to make them get tired as soon as possible, and just keep playing on the floor and keep the tempo higher.

“It’s what we’ve done in the second half, and it was a good performance from us.”

With Ayoze Pérez having been Benítez’s first choice in an attacking midfield role so far this season, Diamé has had to wait for his chance to impress from the start.

But the 30-year-old played his part in the win over Palace after his 66^th-minute introduction and almost scored himself, forcing a save from Julian Speroni with a curling effort.

“It was a good feeling. I didn’t come on last game, and the game before only for a few minutes, so I was happy today to come on earlier and I tried to help the team, and be ready when the manager needs me,” he said.

“I’m just going to keep training hard and working hard to make sure that I get more minutes, and that’s it – it’s the way we have to be. I think it’s just about keeping going and staying fit for the team.”

The Magpies next outing is in nine days’ time, away at Burnley a week on Monday, and Diamé revealed that spirits in the camp are high after they picked up their fourth league win of the season.

“We know this team has character and fighting spirit too,” he said. “The mood of the team is very good – we just need to keep working hard together like we are doing, training hard like we are doing and listening to the manager.”