There has rarely been any doubt over the technical quality Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey bring to this Newcastle team; the problem since their return to the Premier League, however, has been how to maximise it consistently - especially within the framework of a side that sets up not to concede before trying to find the net itself.

It's been a recurring issue for Newcastle all season, and one that has seen Rafa Benitez take both creative assets out of the starting XI at times. But that's all been part of the learning process for two mercurial talents who always lacked dependable consistency to their games, and Newcastle now appear to be reaping the rewards.

Indeed, the Magpies have come into form at the right time of the season, winning four of their last six games in the Premier League and losing just three of their last twelve to steer clear of the relegation battle just as the pressure cranked up a gear, and Shelvey and Perez have played a key part in that, the duo amassing three goals and three assists between them during the Magpies' last three Premier League games.

The 2-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday provided the greatest evidence yet of those improvements, particularly when Perez charged towards the penalty box with the ball at feet and laid off to Shelvey, the England international shrewdly taking a touch to open up the goal before curling beyond Kasper Schmeichel. Then Perez turned goalscorer to seal the victory - latching onto a hoof forward by delicately lobbing the ball beyond the Foxes No.1.

With both players full of confidence and at the heart of a win which has all but confirmed Premier League football at St. James' Park for next season, Benitez fully deserves his share of the credit.

When they first arrived at Newcastle and even when the Toon returned to the top flight this summer, Shelvey and Perez were frustrating talents at this level - now, they're both polished parts of a well-functioning machine and huge assets to this Magpies side.

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