Fellow substitute Damien Duff may have snatched the headlines when he struck at the death to secure a 2-1 victory over Tottenham, but it was the Australian's guile which gave him the opportunity to do so.

At a time when the regime at St James' Park is sitting down with star striker Michael Owen, as well as Nicky Butt, Shola Ameobi and Steve Harper to discuss new contracts, 33-year-old Viduka is also hoping for an offer.

The former Leeds and Celtic frontman joined the club on a Bosman free transfer from derby rivals Middlesbrough in July last year on a two-year deal with the option of a third.

However, a nasty Achilles injury sidelined him for five months, and manager Joe Kinnear admitted his belief after his arrival on Tyneside in September was that Viduka would retire and head back to the southern hemisphere at the end of the current campaign.

But having managed an hour of yesterday's game after replacing the injured Ameobi, Viduka is looking a little further ahead.

He said: "I never had it in my head that I might be retiring and, for me, it would be ideal if I could play one more year here.

"I enjoy doing it. I love coming to work every day, especially when we win games. It's a beautiful place to be.

"Ideally, I would love to play another year for Newcastle, but if it's not to be, it's not to be.

"I work hard for the team whenever I'm used, but football's a funny game and anything can happen."

Anything can, and often does, happen at St James' Park these days, and there was an inevitability about the late drama which provided the conclusion to yesterday's game.

But for once, it was Newcastle who were celebrating, rather than bemoaning, a last-gasp goal.

In their previous two home games, former Magpies Titus Bramble and Abdoulaye Faye had struck at the death to earn draws for Wigan and Stoke respectively.

But this time, it was the home side who, having looked vulnerable as the clock ran down, clinched victory when Duff played the ball into Viduka with just seconds of normal time remaining and then set off in anticipation of a return pass.

The striker held the ball up before deftly back-heeling it into the Irishman's path, and his finish was assured.

Viduka said: "It's always nice as a striker to be involved and to show a little bit of your style.

"We didn't really get into those positions too much, but Damien and me have struck up a bit of an understanding between ourselves in training.

"We do those sort of moves all the time - it was automatic."

For Duff, himself back in action after a groin injury, the winning goal went some of the way towards erasing the disappointment of failing to keep out Bramble's header in the Wigan game.

He said: "The last time I played, the ball came off my knee when I was stood on the line, so getting the goal was a welcome relief.

"It was fantastic to get the win, especially with the way the results went on Saturday. We needed to climb back up the table.

"We just have to keep picking up the points. We need to keep on moving away from the relegation zone.

"A club like Newcastle United shouldn't be down there."

The Magpies eased themselves into 12th place in the Barclays Premier League table as a result of their second successive win, although the victory was hard-fought.

Charles N'Zogbia had fired them into an 11th-minute lead, latching on to keeper Shay Given's clearance to beat Heurelho Gomes, but Luka Modric levelled within 17 minutes as a revitalised Spurs threatened to spoil the party.

But ultimately it was Kinnear, rather than Harry Redknapp, sporting a smile ahead of a difficult Boxing Day trip to Wigan before Liverpool head to Tyneside two days later.