The appointment of Eddie Howe has brought hope to St James Park and revived the outlook for the future.
Eddie Howe stood in the shadow of the statue of Sir Bobby Robson at St James Park posing for pictures with a group of fans who had waited behind him.
He was the last person to leave the stadium after he led the team to their sixth home win in a row. It was the first time since 2004 that the team had achieved that feat, and it was led by Sir Bobby.
The former England boss would spend time with the fans who had waited in the cold for two hours just to say hello.
The phrase "In Howe We Trust" is used by every fan of the club, and the statistics show why. The manager has been responsible for the change in mood, hope and togetherness.
The form table shows that since the turn of the year,Newcastle are second in the league. They have taken 28 points since January 22. They have won nine out of 13
No other team in the history of the league has failed to win a game in their first 14 games. With five games to go, Howe'sNewcastle have dragged themselves to safety.
It has not all been plain sailing. They lost to Cambridge in the FA Cup after coming back from a 11-1 deficit and then faced a must-win match against Man City.
Howe had the right to feel that the gods were conspiring against him when Covid prevented him from taking charge of his first match at home to Brentford, but he instead had to listen to the noise of the crowd from a nearby city centre hotel. When the transfer window opened, he realized that his job as manager and director of football was going to be the same.
The 44-year-old trusted the process and knuckled down. He joked that he was yet to see the city in daylight. He was in at 6am every morning and only left after dark.
Howe had put in place a lot of preparation for the upcoming match, but he also kept track of his new players birthdays and their families in his notebook, as well as pinning motivational quotes on the wall.
The level of detail that has brought everyone closer together has left the players talking about their new boss. Martin Dubravka told me this week that he has never spent more time in his career analyzing rivals, while Jonjo Shelvey said that he got himself into the shape of his life as a way of repaying Howe for picking him out on his first day.
Some of the current squad will continue their journey with Howe and the club beyond the summer. There will be new additions and space needs to be made. They all have an opportunity to stake a claim at some point, and they are all buying into his methods and the project as a whole.
For example, take Miguel Almiron. The match-winner against Palace was a moment to savour for the Paraguayan, who hadn't scored in over a year. When the summer transfer window opens, many predicted he would be one of the first to leave. He reminded St James Park of what he could do last night, after turning in a man-of-the match display.
He puts his body on the line game after game for the cause.
After being brought on to waste a few moments in injury time, Sean Longstaff may have gone into a shell, but last night he came out of St James Park with a pizza under his arm and a smile on his face. The local boy was back in training this morning and ready to play if he is selected for the match.
Three players that have hardly had a kick under Howe, but are now famed for their dressing room team photos following a victory, are Paul Dummett, Dwight Gayle and Federico Fernandez.
The captures of Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier, despite being injured, offer a glimpse into the kind of future the Toon Army can expect.
Howe has made some improvements to those that he inherited.
It is difficult to think of a squad member who has not gotten better since the beginning of the year. When you think back to four or five months, the shadows of their current selves can be seen.
Dan Burn, Matt Targett, and Chris Wood were not household names. They are now a force to be reckoned with, thanks to Howe.
St James Park has been a place where the home fans and the team have different opinions. The players went one down and then disappeared into their shells. The fans would show up for the sake of it, not because of any hope that the club was moving forward.
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It didn't have love, ambition, or hope. The fans were no longer proud of their team. The atmosphere is electric when you walk around the city on matchday.
Fans have smiles on their faces, that lost generation of support is re-engaged and spending money in the city's bars and restaurants on matchdays.
Who is in the starting line-up, who are they signing in the summer, and if there is a spare ticket for the game are some of the questions fans are asking.
The players are playing in front of fans whether they are at home or away. The flag display in honor of Allan Saint-Maximin at the Palace game was shown to the players by the fans.
They don't give away briefs to make the stadium appear full, they are selling out every match.
On Tuesday, the club needed extra security to control a crowd of young fans who had traveled to the training ground to catch a glimpse of their heroes as they arrived for their session. There were usually at least one or two people hanging around to discuss their grievances.
There are a lot of things that need to be changed in and around the club, and the new owners have a huge job on their hands. Hope has been restored, the feeling has changed. The loyal fans of the club are enjoying themselves.
Howe said last night that he was enjoying it. When he opens his eyes in the morning after a win, he gets five seconds of pleasure. He gets up, puts on his tracksuit, and gets stuck into his 12-hour day.
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