Newcastle United buck Premier League trend by posting profit as Mike Ashley's club perform on and off field In a favourite phrase of his, Newcastle are now "wiping their own mouths" as a business. That was the task given to him when he succeeded Chris Mort as chairman in 2008 and while he probably still wouldn't win any popularity contests on Tyneside, Llambias has done what was asked. He has cut costs and increased revenue streams and appointed a manager, Pardew, who has not only kept Newcastle in the Premier League - and therefore protected the business - he has also put them on the cusp of Europa League qualification. Most importantly of all, he has stopped asking owner Ashley for money to prop up a business he had gone into naively as a result of failing to look at the books properly before buying it from Sir John Hall and Freddie Shepherd. Llambias inherited a mess. Mort had appointed Kevin Keegan as manager - a good move - but he had saddled him with a continental style management structure with Dennis Wise - a bad move - as head of player recruitment. He also took over a business typical of top flight football that was out of control, a business which needed millions from its owner each year to remain afloat, let alone stay competitive at the top end of the division. It was a disaster and when Keegan stormed out as a result of boardroom interference player recruitment in August 2008, he turned Ashley and Llambias into hate figures. Twice Ashley has tried to sell the club and twice he has failed. He had lost interest, owning a football club was supposed to be fun, now he just wanted to get rid. When he couldn't find a buyer in a global recession, he ordered Llambias to at least make sure he did not have to lose any more money bailing it out. It has been a long and painful journey. For every step forward in the public relations battle - Ashley covered loses of £500,000 a week in the Championship - there has been a disaster, like the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool last January or the decision to rename St James" Park the Sports Direct Arena, after his own retail chain. To be tolerated and, even admired for the way they have brought spiralling debts under control, is a huge improvement on where they were two years, even 12 or six months ago. They deserved some of the criticism. They make mistakes, they upset people, ruffled feathers and went back on the odd promise. They have, at times, acted with all the sensitivity of a drunken barber holding a cut-throat razor. This season, though, has been a triumph, not just for the team, but also the business. With the £35m from Carroll looking a superb transaction, it has, in the main, been reinvested in the team. There is even some left to spend in the summer. They have a smaller budget than the rest of the teams in the top six, but they are holding their own nonetheless. Newcastle do not pay for players in instalments, they pay the whole fee up front so they completely own the asset. They agree contracts - including the recent significant ones with captain Fabricio Coloccini and goalkeeper Tim Krul - with players that do not have bonus payments or image rights. The weekly wage is the weekly wage so they can keep complete control of their wage bill. They do have debt, around £111m, but it is all in the form of interest free loans from Ashley, not the banks. They also try to tie all key personnel to long term contracts, so that their market value is at its highest, hopefully to ward off interest, but if one of the "top four" calls, it ensures they can get the highest fee possible. As for agents, Llambias "will not be bullied" in negotiations. It has, at times, caused problems and led to the departure of Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton in the summer, but it also ensures they are not taken for a costly ride by those who make money out of the talent of others. The one blot is the release clause in Demba Ba's contract, but nobody knew he would have the season he has had and the Senegal international may yet decide to stay at Newcastle if they qualify for Europe, even if others have a vested interest in getting him to move. While some will scoff at the suggestion they need help keeping their houses in order, Newcastle are in better shape than most ahead of the implementation of Uefa's Financial Fair play regulations. Llambias privately fears their rivals will get around the rules with extravagant sponsorship deals from their owners or companies linked to them. But for a club without a benefactor, Newcastle have every reason to be pleased with the shape they are in. For the first time since Ashley's first season in charge, there is optimism of a brighter future with him at the helm and that is priceless.