'Winning ugly has us sitting pretty' Taylor is pleased with Fab partnership: 'Sitting pretty after winning ugly'.

Byline: Stuart Rayner

STEVEN Taylor's growing understanding with Fabricio Coloccini is helping Newcastle United to "win ugly" - something which the 23-year-old hopes they continue to make a habit of this season.

The Magpies' latest 1-0 victory - at Preston North End on Monday - was far from a classic.

But a ninth clean sheet this term highlighted their new-found solidity. Taylor puts that down to a settled combination at the back, and singled out his much-maligned central defensive partner Coloccini for praise. "Preston threw a few different types of strikers at us, but I thought we dealt with them really well," commented Taylor. "I thought the defence was fantastic. Jose (Enrique) and Danny (Simpson) did really well, and I feel I've got a really good understanding with Coloccini at the minute.

"We feel settled as a back four, and I don't really think there was a moment in the game where we felt threatened. s "Whatever they threw at us, we dealt with it well and it was a solid all-round performance.

"It's nice that there hasn't really been the chopping and changing in defence this season. I feel like I've got a decent understanding with Fabricio now and long may that continue. We work well together in training, and I think that shows on the pitch. That was our ninth clean sheet of the season, so that's another positive. The more the merrier."

Entertainment was in short supply during Monday night's televised clash at Deepdale, but Taylor took the nature of Newcastle's win as a positive.

"I don't mind winning ugly," he insisted. "I don't care how we win games, as long as we get all three points. Every-one put a shift in. Sometimes you don't play well as a team, but certain players can still get you something out of the game. Kevin (Nolan) came up with a goal with his left foot - sometimes a moment like that makes all the difference.

"Hopefully, that's the kind of result that might make a difference at the end of the season. We need to win as many games as we can, and when you play away from home, it's always a massive result if you can come away with all three points. "Preston had a couple of chances, but it was a really tight match and it always feels sweeter when you come out on top of one of those. "It's great to back on top (of the Championship), that's where you want to be. It's important to keep piling the points on because we want to break away from the rest of the pack. If we keep plugging away and getting wins away from home, we'll be hard to overhaul." Taylor also praised the squad for its determination on the pitch - and lighthearted approach off it. "Questions were asked when we lost at Blackpool and Scunthorpe, but I think we've answered them fairly convincingly," he said. "We're a different side this year - more together. We can pass the ball, but we can also do the dirty side of things. If a tackle goes in and a few players react, we'll get ourselves round and stick together. "As team-mates, we know we're going to back each other up. Last season, I'm not sure we had that as much. "I'm loving it. It's just a totally different mood about the place. We're going into training now and having a right good laugh. We know when we have to be serious, but we also know it's good to have a laugh and a joke. "The banter is absolutely fantastic on the training ground, and it hasn't always been like that in the time I've been at Newcastle. We're all mingling as a group, and we know how to take each other, whereas a few years ago you might have got some people forming their own little groups. "I just wish the public could see what we were like on the inside of the dressing room now because it's something to be proud of." Meanwhile, Newcastle are highly likely to have the Championship player of the month for the second month running, with three players among the four leading contenders. Swansea's Darren Pratley is on a shortlist with Steve Harper, Alan Smith and Nolan, last month's winner of the PFA fans award.