Quote of the day

"The promotion is great news. I'm delighted for the team, delighted. I went on Monday and watched them get promotion. It took me back to Grimsby, when we won promotion there. It was a great moment.

Monday night took away some of the hardship I've felt since I was told about the cancer. It gave me a lift because I'm just a Newcastle fan at heart. It gave me a huge lift after having a tough time. I want to be around to see them back in the Premier League now."

Former Newcastle chairman Sir John Hall, who is suffering from terminal cancer and for whom promotion back to the division he first took us to has come as a timely tonic. Very best wishes to him for the fight ahead from both of us at Black & White & Read All Over.

Meanwhile, in amongst the inevitable expectation-dampening, Chris Hughton has revealed that a chuffed Wor Al phoned to congratulate him and the team, and a telling use of the first person plural pronoun indicated where born-and-bred Londoner Rob Lee's allegiances continue to lie: "Most of the players in the current team were in the side that got us relegated, so all credit to them because they've knuckled down".