London, February 10 (BUS): As the full-time whistle blew in Newcastle United’s 3-1 win over Everton, St James’ Park erupted in celebration – the likes of which had not been heard in Tyneside in a while.
As the classic Beatles “Hey Jude” sounded around the stadium and the chorus joined by new toon champ Alain Saint-Maximin, it felt as if a dark cloud had finally cleared.
All that has really happened is that Newcastle, for the first time this season, are out of the Premier League’s relegation zone, Reuters reports.
For a team whose lofty ambitions have already gone into the stratosphere after the Saudi Public Investment Fund bought an 80% stake in the club in October, such a modest achievement hardly seems reason for such hysteria.
But after a season of woes in which Newcastle didn’t win a league game until January, it looked like a pivotal moment in their bid to avoid relegation.
Eddie Howe’s side aim to maintain the upward momentum as they host Aston Villa on Sunday in pursuit of their third consecutive league win for the first time since November 2018.
They would do so full of confidence after a display against Everton in which Saint-Maximin was sensational, Kieran Trippier scored a stunning free kick and Brazil’s new 40 million pound Bruno Guimaraes debuted.
Howe, who replaced Steve Bruce after the takeover, has enough wits to know that Good Night will not make or finish Newcastle’s survival mission, and that the disappointment of a dangerous Villa side will send his side back into the mud.
“The challenges are coming up intense and fast and now we’re going to Aston Villa,” Howe said after defeating Everton, in which Newcastle recovered from a loss.
“We have a lot of work to do, but the most important thing for us at the moment is that we see the commitment of the players. We are seeing the togetherness.”
critical period
A calf injury to Trippier took the shine off the win as Howe said it would be “devastating” to lose him at such a crucial period.
And while Everton were in attendance, a Villa side who are enjoying life under Steven Gerrard will offer a tougher check, especially with Philippe Coutinho showing the kind of level he has regularly shown for Liverpool.
He scored a goal and provided assists in Villa’s 3-3 draw with Leeds United on Wednesday.
Newcastle will also be wary that the three teams below them, Norwich City, Watford and Burnley, are all showing enough to suggest any of them could escape.
Burnley, bottom of the standings, four points behind Newcastle, with two games in hand, hosts Liverpool on Sunday after facing Manchester United in the middle of the week, while 19th-placed Watford, who lost to West Ham United on Tuesday, host Brighton and Hove Albion.
Third-placed Norwich are unbeaten in three matches, although they host leaders Manchester City on Saturday.
What looked like a head-to-head fight between four teams at the bottom has also expanded with Frank Lampard and Everton Brentford now taking part in the relegation battle.
Everton’s loss to Newcastle was their fourth consecutive league defeat and they are now just two points above the relegation zone ahead of their visit to Leeds on Saturday.
Brentford too, for all the praise they’ve received this season, are only six points ahead of Norwich and have played more games than everyone around them.
So while Man City threatens to make the title race a parade, the battle for survival will be exciting.