Newcastle boss Eddie Howe warned against complacency after watching his resurgent team ease above Brentford and further clear of relegation trouble.
Joelinton and Joe Willock scored the goals in a 2-0 victory in London extending their unbeaten run to seven Premier League games and climbing to 14th.
Brentford played for 80 minutes with 10 men after Josh Dasilva was sent off for a high tackle on Matt Targett.
'The relegation picture for me goes right to the wire,' said Howe. 'We don't want to be involved but our next run of games dictates what happens. We have to be focused, not be carried away with results.
'I was really pleased with our response to the red card. As we saw against Norwich earlier in the season it doesn't guarantee you anything. I knew we'd have a lot of the ball and it is about ability to threaten and break them down.
'The first goal hugely important and a great finish from Joe who I was really pleased for.'
The first goal was a header by Joelinton, thriving in midfield and celebrating only his second goal of the season.
'The biggest compliment I can pay is that he hasn't made it look difficult and hasn't needed too much information,' said Howe when asked about the Brazilian's transformation.
'He absorbs the information quickly and is able to deliver. Naturally, he has an attacking eye, takes up good positions and hopefully he can get many more arriving late in the box.'
Howe said he hopes to have Allan Saint Maximan back next week to face Brighton.
'Allan is a Massive player for us,' he said. ' I'm very aware we need him back but its great to see the team able to cope, strong enough to get results in their absence.
'I'll take any selection dilemmas and those calls you have to make as a manager. The squad is in a good place, feeling better but going into an intense period of games.'