Manchester City defender Kolo Toure insists the halftime ruck was what inspired them to victory over Newcastle United.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that manager Roberto Mancini and captain Carlos Tevez had a verbal bust-up in the dressing room at the interval after a disappointing opening 45 minutes
Toure said: "The right things were said at half-time. The manager had the right words and we worked harder in the second half and we are really happy that we got the three points.
"We are second in the league and that should give everyone confidence to come back and try to make sure our standards do not slip and that we find the consistency we need to sustain a challenge.
"If we work hard then we can maintain that challenge. The great thing for us is that we are still a new team and there is still a lot of improvement to come this season - I'm sure of that. So to be second at this stage is a really good thing."
