Of course, it is impossible to completely escape a city’s feelings and expectations, especially when the club’s all-time leading scorer, Alan Shearer, texts the club captain, Bruno Guimaraes, on the eve of the game. His message was not one spewing emotion, but a clinical instruction: “Bring that trophy back.”

It was Geordie dreamland for The Magpies with goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak seeing them claim a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium to end a 70-year wait for a domestic honour. The often cool and calm Howe let his sheer joy shine through as he made his way onto the pitch to celebrate the trophy victory.