Sam Allardyce enjoyed another 3-0 victory against his former club as Blackburn Rovers secured a comfortable victory over the Magpies on Saturday to move out of the relegation zone.

Allardyce had taken Newcastle to a 3-0 win when he faced Bolton Wanderers last season and the Magpies were on the returning end on Saturday as a brace from Jason Roberts and another goal by Benni McCarthy propelled them to a convincing victory.

It was a harsh result for Newcastle who created a number of chances in the first half but failed to put them away. Andy Carroll had two great chances to build on his recent good performances but was unable to hit the target with his headers on both occasions.

Stephen Warnock put a brilliant block to deny Michael Owen while Nicky Butt somehow managed to sky his shot from just eight yards out after being put clear by Damien Duff. Blackburn settled down in the second half to create chances of their own and were rewarded in the 61st minute when McCarthy fell down in the penalty area and referee Rob Styles pointed to the spot that was calmly put away by the South African international.

Blackburn doubled the lead five minutes later when Morten Gamst Pedersen put in a great cross inside the area and Roberts slotted home on the volley from close range. Both the players linked up again four minutes from the final whistle with the same result as Blackburn secured one of their biggest victories this season.