The former Juventus man was paired with Henri Camara up front after injury ruled out first-choice pair Emile Heskey and Amr Zaki.

And Bruce was so impressed with the new-look partnership that he will consider sticking with them against Everton on Monday night – even if Heskey and Zaki recover from hamstring strains.

Kapo has mainly been used on the left wing since his £3m arrival from Birmingham in the summer, but Bruce believes the Frenchman's best role is as a striker.

For Camara, his start at St James' Park was his first for Latics in the league since the 3-0 defeat to West Ham in the latter stages of the 2006/07 campaign.

Bruce told the Evening Post: "The two lads up front worked extremely hard and were a threat to Newcastle all game.

"Their movement was excellent. We got behind Newcastle's defenders a lot, and I was delighted with what I saw.

"I've certainly got a decision to make before we play Everton next week – it's not a given that the other two lads will come straight back in.

"Kapo had his best game for us playing in his best position. For me he's a second striker, He can play on the left side too, but when fully fit at Birmingham his best performances were up the front.

"I brought him here to give us another option up front, and it was good to give that opportunity on Saturday.

"In fairness to the lad, he hasn't shown his best form yet. But hopefully what he did at Newcastle was a sign of things to come.

"Kapo put himself about, linked play well, and was good in the air too.

"He got a nasty bang on the nose at one stage in the first half and needed a lot of treatment to stop it bleeding.

"But he got on with the job and every credit to him."