Brian Kidd has hailed City's fighting spirit after Newcastle pushed the Blues all the way in a festy encounter at the CoMS.

The Blues’ assistant manager recognised that the 2-1 win over the Magpies wasn’t a game that will have City fans demanding a release on DVD, but the end result is the most important fact on a largely frustrating afternoon.

“If you want to be in contention to win the Premier League you’ve got to be able to play, fight and dig results out and win ugly and I think we saw bits of all those qualities today,” said Kidd.

“All credit to Newcastle who I though were terrific today. We weren’t really at the races in the first half, but the players all knew that and their response after the break was terrific.

“I thinkl three games in a week took their toll somewhat, but top teams have to cope with that and occasionally you will get performances that look a little lacklustre, but the best teams respond and dig results out, which is what we did today.

“We’ve gone second in the table and while the game might not have been for the purist, it was pleasing that we stuck at it and came away with three points. We’ve got a lot of substance in the squad now and after today’s performance, I know this team have a real chance this season.

“When you look at our bench, it’s only going to get stronger in the next few weeks so when everyone is fit, we’ve players in all positions who can change a game.”

Kidd also believes City boss Roberto Mancini - who went straight to Italy for family reasons afterwards - deserves praise for his tactical switches during the match.

He said: “I think the boss deserves great credit today because he changed things around a few times and then brings on Adam, who comes up with the winner. We went for it and despite things not going our way, we weren’t prepared to settle for a draw and it paid off, so happy days!”