Tottenham Hotspur continued their push for a Champions League place as they ruthlessly put Newcastle United to the sword 4-0 at St James' Park.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored a brace as Nacer Chadli and Paulinho also scored for Tim Sherwood's side.

Below, Sports Mole looks back over the contest to determine if the visitors were deserving victors, or whether Newcastle can consider themselves hard done by.

Match statistics

Newcastle
Shots: 13
On target: 5
Possession: 49%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 6

Spurs
Shots: 15
On target: 8
Possession: 51%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 11

Was the result fair?

The better team won, but perhaps the margin was a bit flattering. Both teams were evenly matched in most areas, but the visitors were far superior in front of goal. Time and again they attacked with intent, while the Magpies were short of ideas. The difference was Spurs' ability to make the most of the chances that presented themselves.

Spurs' performance

Tim Sherwood's side will be delighted with their night's work. As stated the 4-0 scoreline was somewhat flattering, but they look a cohesive unit nowadays, as opposed to an assembly of players mashed together. Emmanuel Adebayor has turned his season around under Sherwood. He's keeping £26m striker Roberto Soldado out of the side, and for good reason. Sherwood's side pose a genuine threat to that fourth Champions League spot.

Newcastle's performance

There wasn't a whole lot wrong from Newcastle. Papiss Cisse is a shadow of the player who was on fire when he first joined, and they seemed too eager to rush attacks. Time and again they broke down too easily. They were bereft of ideas up top and Pardew must address this. The loss of Yohan Cabaye was sorely felt too, as Nabil Bentaleb and Moussa Dembele edged the midfield battle, but this was never a 4-0 drubbing, Newcastle were simply put to the sword.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Emmanuel Adebayor: Nabil Bentaleb looks to be a star in the making, but the Man of the Match goes to the rejuvenated Adebayor. The Togo striker is back to the kind of form that made him one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League. Frozen out by Andre Villas-Boas, Adebayor is now the main man at White Hart Lane.

Biggest gaffe

Papiss Cisse had a great chance for the home side when he raced through but he showed that he is struggling for confidence with a tame lob over Hugo Lloris that was drifting wide before Younes Kaboul cleared it up comfortably.

What next?

Newcastle: Newcastle have a chance to end their miserable home run when Aston Villa visit a week on Saturday. The game is very much a winnable one for the Magpies, and Pardew's side have to respond or risk their season petering out in February.

Spurs: Tottenham travel to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the Europa League next week before travelling to face Norwich City on February 22.