Paul Mitchell sees the secret that Newcastle have to take into the boardroom
It was not looking great for Newcastle United. There were 74 minutes on the clock at Molineux and Wolves were still ahead. Was it going to be one of those days? Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes took matters into their own hands to ensure it wasn't - turning the game on its head late on - as the visitors came from behind to claim three huge points on the road.
In a week where tensions behind the scenes spilled out in public, the togetherness Newcastle showed in front of CEO Darren Eales and sporting director Paul Mitchell was timely. In truth, that unbreakable spirit - at all levels - has been one of the secrets behind Newcastle's rise under Eddie Howe and the Magpies now have to come together off the field as well as on it.
"The unity between the players, myself and the supporters is the most important thing at any football club," Howe said. "We're together a lot. We have got a great group of people working as hard as they can for success on the training pitch every day. Coming here, 1-0 down, it's always difficult to come back and win games, but great signs for us."
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Newcastle have been nowhere near their best in recent weeks, but the black-and-whites have shown resilience to make their finest start to a campaign since Kevin Keegan's side went on to finish in second place in 1996. That spirit has been evident from the get-go.
Newcastle went down to 10 men after less than half an hour against Southampton, when the score was goalless, yet still managed to win the game on the opening day. The black-and-whites were up against it at Bournemouth after going behind, but still scraped a point late on last month. Newcastle conceded an equaliser against a Spurs side who dominated possession and the shot count, but Howe's team did not crumble and managed to dig out a winner. The Magpies were 1-0 down at Wolves going into the final quarter of an hour at Molineux, but emerged victorious thanks in no small part to their bench.
Howe rarely had the luxury of making five effective substitutions during an injury-ravaged campaign last season, but those players who came on against Wolves all played their part on Sunday. Barnes, of course, stepped up with that wondergoal to win the game. Joe Willock created more chances than any other player (five) on the field. The influential Sandro Tonali completed all but one of his passes after Newcastle previously struggled to keep hold of the ball in the middle of the park. Kieran Trippier's leadership and experience were invaluable. Lloyd Kelly held firm after coming on in the final minutes and made one crucial intervention to head Carlos Forbs' cross clear.
Remarkably, following Sunday's win at Wolves, Newcastle have already claimed nearly half (four) as many points from losing positions as they did in the whole of last season (10). That feels significant.
Yes, there were a number of memorable examples last season where Newcastle rallied. Who could forget the incredible comeback against West Ham, when Newcastle recovered from 3-1 down to win 4-3? Or when the Magpies came from 4-2 down to draw against Luton Town?
However, there were also numerous occasions when Newcastle went behind and struggled to respond in a campaign where the black-and-whites suffered a whopping 11 defeats on the road. The visitors were 3-0 down at Brighton before Callum Wilson scored a late consolation and Howe's side failed to find the back of the net in losses at Bournemouth, Everton, Luton Town and Crystal Palace. A dramatic turnaround was never on the cards when Nottingham Forest went 3-1 up at St James' Park on Boxing Day or when Arsenal romped into a 4-0 lead after just 69 minutes at the Emirates last February.
Yet those powers of recovery look to have returned. Just ask match-winner Barnes. "No matter where the performance levels are, you always know the character is going to be there with this team," he added.