The final whistle had barely blown before T-Rex’s I Love to Boogie began to boom out of the sound system at St James’ Park. Judging by the width of his smile, Eddie Howe was ready to dance with joy.
Clearly emotional, Newcastle’s manager instead settled for hugging everyone in sight before joining his players on a lap of appreciation. As they circumnavigated the pitch, applauding fans in all four corners of the stadium, an outsider might have assumed Howe’s team had just qualified for Europe and were preparing to party.