These are toxic times on Tyneside but the thousands of supporters who boycotted were at least spared another dispiriting display which equalled a club-record rot of six straight defeats in the Premier League. Were it not for a freaky five wins on the spin last autumn, the Magpies would be headed for the Championship. In fact, head coach John Carver fears his side – the worst in the division on present form – could yet plummet towards the bottom three. ‘We are in amongst a relegation battle. Leicester, for example, are winning games, but we aren’t,’ he said after goals from Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane’s 30th of the season condemned them to a 10th loss in 14. Christian Eriksen celebrates after the Swedish midfielder's curling free-kick misses his team-mates and Tim Krul in the Newcastle goal . Nacer Chadli tries his luck from 30 yards out to open the scoring for Tottenham on the half-hour mark with a well-placed left-footed strike . Newcastle players join Jack Colback as the hard-working midfielder pounces on a loose ball in the penalty area . Harry Kane celebrates putting the result beyond doubt as Spurs claim a 3-1 win over Newcastle, who sink to a sixth loss on the bounce . NEWCASTLE (4-1-4-1): Krul 4; Janmaat 6.5, Williamson 6, Coloccini 6, Anita 6 (Armstrong 75, 6); R Taylor 6; Gouffran 4.5 (Ameobi 46, 6), Colback 6.5, Abeid 4.5 (Obertan 46, 6), Cabella 5.5; Perez 6.5 . Subs not used: Riviere, Kemen, Sterry, Woodman . Scorers: Colback 46 . Bookings: Colback, Cabella . TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Vorm 6; Dier 6, Vertonghen 7, Fazio 6, Rose 6.5 (Davies 81); Paulinho 6.5 (Mason 88), Bentaleb 6.5; Lamela 6, Chadli 7.5 (Dembele 78), Eriksen 7; Kane 6.5 . Subs not used: Soldado, Yedlin, Townsend, Friedel . Scorers: Chadli 30, Eriksen 53, Kane 90 . Bookings: Lamela, Vertonghen, Paulinho, Bentaleb . Referee: Kevin Friend 7 Attendance: 47, 427 . MOM: Nacer Chadli . Eriksen's free-kick goes direction in from out wide for the winner - CLICK HERE to see more from Sportsmail's MATCH ZONE . ‘I’m angry. It’s another defeat and that’s not good enough. This is the most difficult situation I’ve ever been in but I’m not going to give up on it.’ Although the official attendance was returned as a massively inaccurate 47, 427 – making it the biggest of the weekend in the top-flight – estimates had it nearer 40,000 as fans stayed away in protest at Mike Ashley’s running of the club, which this month returned record profits of £18.7million before revealing they have a further £34m in the bank. The billionaire will need to part with a sizeable chunk of that cash this summer if Newcastle are to avoid a season-long struggle against relegation next time around. One banner – unfurled during a pre-match protest outside of the Gallowgate End – captured the mood of frustration and mistrust among supporters – ‘NUFC – Balance sheet champions, 2008-2014’. Sportsmail’s Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, launched a scathing attack on Ashley. ‘People will say as supporters you’ve got to come back, you’ve got to get behind your team. But what are the owners doing for supporters?’ he said. ‘Since Mike Ashley’s been here they’ve been relegated once and they could be relegated again. ‘So he’s balanced the books and he’s made money because he’s a businessman, but I think of these people and wonder, “Don’t you want to be excited yourself?”. ‘I’m getting bored by Newcastle. Why does Mike Ashley want the club if there’s nothing happening? There’s no cup run, I just don’t get it. I don’t get why he wants to own a football club.’ The defeat leaves Newcastle seven points above the drop zone and Carver has previously confessed that he does not know where their next point is coming from. Tottenham striker Harry Kane at full stretch with of Spurs is chased down by Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini . After Kane was chosen as caretaker of the captain's armband, Jan Vertonghen returned to lead Tottenham at St James' Park . Kane is assessed early in the match after inadvertently being caught in the head by the arm of Newcastle's Vernon Anita . On this evidence, they may well have to rely on their current tally of 35 being enough. They were hardly helped here by Tim Krul. But perhaps the loss of form of the usually-dependable goalkeeper best represents the problems which have plagued the squad in recent weeks. The Dutch stopper could have done more to keep out Chadli’s first-half opener and was again culpable as Eriksen struck to restore the lead after Jack Colback had levelled early in the second half. Chadli appeared to have exhausted his options as he floated in possession 25 yards from goal only to drop his shoulder before slamming into the bottom corner with Krul sluggish in his pursuit of the strike. Carver reacted to an insipid first half by hooking the ineffective Yoan Gouffran and midfielder Mehdi Abeid and within 20 seconds they were level when Colback steamed onto a loose ball inside the area before slotting home. Chadli was given space outside the box and pulled the trigger just as Newcastle midfielder Jack Colback arrived in defence . Colback is too late as the Belgian laces his shot from range and it nestles in the bottom corner giving Newcastle keeper Tim Krul no chance . Chadli celebrates after scoring the goal to send Spurs on their way on a tough day for Newcastle amid fan protests . Chadli leaps in the air with delight after his sublime strike for the opening goal of the match . Christian Eriksen (left) tussles with Newcastle's Ryan Taylor at St James' Park on Sunday . But parity was to last just eight minutes and Eriksen’s free-kick – intended as a cross – bounced through the weak grasp of Krul and into the back of the net. Krul, in fairness, made a string of fine stops to keep Newcastle within one but he was powerless to prevent Kane rolling beyond him in stoppage-time after he had skipped onto Erik Lamela’s through-ball. In doing so Kane became the first Spurs player since Gary Lineker in 1992 to score 30 goals in one season. And the England striker now has Lineker’s total of 35 in his sights. Jack Colback is in the right place at the right time to pounce on a loose ball in the midfield and equalise for Newcastle . Colback jumps for joy after his fourth goal of the season, all of which have been scored at Newcastle's home St James' Park . Fans applaud while one holds up a 'Love NUFC, No Ashley' sign, while Colback's Newcastle team-mates join in the celebrations . ‘I'm very proud but there are five games left and, hopefully, I'll get a few more goals,’ he said. Manager Mauricio Pochettino added: ‘We were better than Newcastle and deserved the win. ‘For Harry, it is a fantastic achievement. We need to push him now because he has a lot of improvement left in him.’ Newcastle, meanwhile, will also need to improve in the final five matches of their sorry season, or risk starting next in the second tier. Eriksen (right punching the air) and Spurs celebrate after his free-kick saw them regain the lead against United . Newcastle keeper Krul is left stranded as Eriksen's free-kick misses a line of his own players and curls into the back of the net . Spurs midfielder Erik Lamela (centre) gets a talking to before a yellow card comes his way after a sliding tackle on Vurnon Anita . Kane calmly slots Tottenham's third goal in time added on after coming one-on-one with Krul . Kane's goal after a quiet game by the prolific striker's standards brings him back level with Sergio Aguero as the Premier League's top scorer . A less than full stand at St James' Park watches the action on Sunday between Newcastle United and Tottenham . A plane hired by the supporters of rivals Sunderland heap misery on United with a reminder their last five consecutive derby losses . 'We don't demand a team that wins, we demand a team that tries,' reads a banner erected outside St James' Park on Sunday . A young boy holds up one of the hundreds of Ashleyout.com flyers handed out before the match .
Nacer Chadli opened the scoring with a left-footed strike from outside the box on the half-hour mark.
Jack Colback equalised for the home side immediately after half-time after the ball fell kindly in the area.
Christian Eriksen won Spurs the lead back with the Swede's curling free-kick missing everyone.
Harry Kane topped off a relatively quiet game with a runaway goal after regular time was up.
Newcastle have now lost six consecutive Premier League matches under manager John Carver.
Fans protested before and during the match against owner Mike Ashley's perceived lack of ambition.