Even when it appeared a crisis was unfolding on Tyneside, Rafa Benitez always insisted one win would “change everything” for Newcastle United – and, just as is so often the case, the Spaniard has been proven right.
The Magpies entered November without a victory this season, having claimed just three points from their opening 10 matches and having failed to win any of those games.
With United bottom of the table and devoid of confidence, a gloom descended upon Tyneside – with some supporters, somewhat understandably given the Magpies’ perilous position, even believing Newcastle were as good as down by the end of October.
Saturday, November 3, was the day when the Magpies’ season belatedly sprung to life – just as Benitez always promised it would.
United rode their luck against Watford, who could and should have led 3-0 at St James’ Park by the interval, but three enforced substitutions changed the course of the game, as well as Newcastle’s campaign as a whole.
The 1-0 victory over the Hornets was immediately followed by another triumph on home turf, this time 2-1 against AFC Bournemouth.
Newcastle built up such momentum during those successive wins that even a 16-day gap without a match during the international break could not derail their recovery.
Monday night’s 2-1 win over Burnley was significant not only because it lifted Newcastle four points clear of the drop zone, but also due to the unwanted records it put paid to.
The Magpies claimed their first victory when appearing on Monday Night Football since October 2011, they won on the road for the first time since April, and they registered a first triumph away from St James Park this season, too.
A woeful first quarter of the campaign has been almost wiped out by a perfect November – Benitez will be nominated, and must surely win, the Premier League Manager of the Month award – and Newcastle will now take immense confidence into Saturday’s match against West Ham United, who the 13th-placed Magpies are above on goal difference alone, at St James’ Park.
“Obviously to win for us the first game of the season was massive. Now, to win three games in a row, the players are now playing with more confidence,” Benitez reflected after the win at Turf Moor during an interview with nufcTV, echoing the statements he had made earlier in the season that a solitary victory would dramatically alter the complexion of United’s campaign.