Blackburn boss Paul Ince was happy to see his side put the ongoing Newcastle saga out of their minds to claim a 2-1 win.

Watched by Joe Kinnear, who was appointed as interim manager on Friday, Newcastle's poor defending allowed Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz to head the visitors into a 2-0 lead with just 41 minutes gone.

The former Wimbledon boss, who had addressed the players before kick-off, had some choice words for them at the break, and that seemed to do the trick as they turned in a much-improved second-half display.

He said: "It was important in the last 48 hours that we shut that out and concentrated on what Blackburn Rovers is all about rather than feeling sorry for Newcastle.

"Also, it was a case of who got the first goal. As soon as we got the first goal I felt at ease because I knew the crowd would get on their backs.

"It's not the [Newcastle] players' fault. They are trying, they are trying really, really hard and I feel sorry for them.

"But at the end of the day, as soon as we got the first goal, I thought we were comfortable."