For quite a while, the torrential rain seemed Newcastle United’s biggest enemy, but early in the second half Rémi Garde brought Rudy Gestede off the bench. To say Gestede shook things up a bit would be an understatement and, equally importantly, he brought the previously slumbering Jordan Ayew to life.

Ayew duly claimed a stunning equaliser and although the resultant point still leaves Aston Villa bottom and seemingly doomed to relegation Garde will surely feel a sliver of encouragement. Steve McClaren, meanwhile, merely received a reminder that his own relegation worries are far from behind him.

The standard of the first half was so desperately poor that, even at the ages of 54 and 49 and with less-than-glorious playing careers long behind them, McClaren and Garde could probably have stepped into midfield and not looked entirely out of place.