GLENN Roeder acknowledged the performance wasn't pretty in their UEFA Cup last 32 second leg tie, but the most important thing was to get the job done.

Roeder watched his side stretch their unbeaten European run to 12 games this season and claim their first clean sheet in 18 games, but failed to see them hit the heights of previous performances against continental opposition.

"Obviously the aim was for us to get in to last 16," said Roeder. "I thought they came and did a good job defensively and made it difficult for us. I was disappointed we didn't handle their tactics better.

"All the room was in the wide areas but we tried to play the ball through the middle and they had two screeners. We were too slow in our build up and it was patchy. There were good parts I was happy with and there were parts I wasn't happy with. It was up to us to raise our game and I expect our standards to be higher.

"Hopefully over the last dozen games of the season we can finish well. There are things at the club that need to be improved on. On the football side we need to be more consistent and I expect the players to handle the expectation of the fans to play better. If you're a Newcastle United player you have to be brave."

Just over 30,000 turned out to watch United, but the club didn't go down the route of rivals Blackburn who charged £15 for adults, with kids getting in for £1.

With Newcastle almost guaranteed a place in the next round and Channel Five beaming the game out live, the club charged adults £20 and children £10.

Roeder did make a point of paying tribute to the supporters, however, and recognised their fanaticism after the game.

He said: "I thought it was a wonderful crowd to have over 30,00 with it being live in front of TV audience and we were 3-1 up from the first leg.

"That just shows how much Newcastle supporters love their football. I thought we could have done better for them. We were far too slow in the build up. The players know that."

Goalkeeper Steve Harper, meanwhile, was pleased Newcastle came through their ''no-win situation''.

He said: ''When a team come up and set themselves up like that it's a big compliment. They had 11 men behind the ball and made it hard - we couldn't find a way through in the first half. We did the job away and tonight was a no-win situation - but a great finish from Obafemi won it for us.''