Should Newcastle beat the drop as expected this season, with 35 points now on the board, it won't be because of their ferociousness in attack. While their offensive threat has improved as the season's gone on, especially since the January arrival of Kenedy, the Magpies' top flight credentials truly rest on their defensive resilience - Burnley are the only side outside the Premier League's top six to concede less goals than them in the top flight this term.

And an increasingly key influence in that impressive record is Paul Dummett, a real throwback of a full-back. Indeed, most defensive flankers these days are far more concerned with what they contribute going forward, but the Welshman is a defender first - and a hugely reliable one at that.

On Saturday, as Newcastle clinched a huge 1-0 win over relegation rivals Huddersfield that appears to have left them all-but-mathematically safe, Dummett didn't register a single successful dribble, created chance or shot at goal and attempted just one cross in ninety minutes. He did, however, win the joint-most aerial duels and make the joint-most clearances and blocks of any Magies player, while registering two tackles and two interceptions.

Equally telling of his influence was how quiet he kept Elias Kachunga on the right wing. The forward failed to take an attempt at goal, create a chance or complete a dribble, and was eventually subbed off after 55 minutes without making any real impact on the match.

Dummett though, is unlikely to draw many plaudits from the weekend win and that's been a recurring theme throughout his career. Back in 2016, he revealed that Alan Pardew had told him he wouldn't make it in the first team, and there's admittedly something incredibly unassuming about the 26-year-old. But that's precisely what makes unsung heroes so unsung, and Dummett is certainly one of those - one whose importance to the Magpies feels like its growing by the game.

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