CRAIG HOPE’S Wembley verdict: How Eddie Howe got Newcastle set for success – and why he won’t stand still

For a man who never rests in his pursuit of betterment, a statue probably won’t suit Eddie Howe.

Standing still is not his thing, you see. It is because of that drive, that daily, hourly desire to improve those under his care, that Newcastle United are now trophyless no more.

From this silverware will come a bronzed likeness of Howe, no doubt, even if he does not crave such celebration. But for a conservative character, Howe is a force-of-nature coach. He is the best of his generation, and you do not need to qualify that with ‘English’. Six of the players who featured here — three starters, three substitutes — he inherited from a team who were heading for relegation, and one of them was Joelinton, the man-of-the-match in midfield. He was a forward who was going backwards when Howe arrived.

There is a temptation to look in from the outside and believe Newcastle’s rise has been because of financial might.

It has helped, of course. The accelerating factor, however, the mightiest reason of all, is Howe. This is a victory for exceptional management more than anything else.

Take the goal that set them on their way. Howe and his coaches started working on set-piece routines — for this game only — two weeks ago. So, when Kieran Trippier hung a corner to the penalty spot and Dan Burn, at 6ft 7in, jumped above Alexis Mac Allister — one foot his inferior — it was not good fortune.

‘We have worked on them tirelessly for a fortnight, not always with much success, if I’m honest,’ said Howe. ‘We said that a set-piece could win us the game. Little things can make the difference.’

A big difference, it turns out. There was also a deliberate ploy to play differently during a 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League last month. 70 years without a domestic trophy is the headline, but do not under-estimate how long the head coach has been planning for this day.

In the end, it was a 90-minute thesis in how to beat a better team, which the respective league positions would suggest Liverpool are. Not that they looked it against Howe’s heroes, who played as if they had each downed a slab of Carabao energy juice beforehand.

‘I thought we were magnificent,’ said Howe. ‘We were not lucky.’

Newcastle, though, are lucky to have him. Yes, they have recruited well since the Saudi-led takeover of 2021, but Howe’s fingerprints are all over every one of those bank notes.

Not a player came in without his sign-off and his groundwork, supported by former co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. Newcastle had money in those early windows, but the sense in identifying those players belonged to Howe.

From Trippier to Bruno Guimaraes to Alexander Isak, they are stars who have shot Newcastle into a whole new orbit. Yet the one who rivals them all for the greatest signing in the club’s recent history is Burn, at a modest £13million from Brighton. Kevin Keegan had Brian Kilcline in 1992, and Burn is Howe’s equivalent. He knew the group needed a leader and, in the three years since, Burn has led the way.

He is, in many ways, Howe’s on-field embodiment. They are honest, hard-working and genuine. Good guys. The cheer for Burn during the post-match celebrations was bettered only in volume by the one reserved for his manager. Supporters know how fortunate they are. They have idolised Keegan and Bobby Robson and others, but Howe could surpass the lot, if not already.

‘It wasn’t a victory for me or the players as such,’ said Howe. ‘It was a victory for the club, the city. Everyone that’s given loyalty and support to the club and has seen some really disappointing days for the last number of decades.

‘The pain of certain defeats. Today’s a really sweet moment and I encourage everyone to enjoy it. We knew what was at stake today, for all the people here, all the people back in Newcastle, and we just wanted to do them proud. The power of football is amazing.’

Not since Harry Redknapp and the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008 has an English coach lifted a domestic trophy. Howe really should be the England manager, if the FA had gone after the best man for the job last summer.

There was a small window when he may have been gettable, amid the turbulence of off-field change at the club. But he stayed because of unfinished business, because of loyalty to his players and supporters.

He knew he had worked so hard to lay the foundations for this day that he would not allow them to crumble because of hierarchical issues that were not his fault. He resolved to influence and control what he could, and that was the dressing room, not the boardroom.

He is the most powerful man at the club now, like he always should have been. He is without doubt the most popular man in the city. He once joked to me, in his early months at the club, that he could not find a house that he and his wife could agree on. Well, he can build a brand new one on the Town Moor after this, for all of the city’s privileges surely await.

One of them, in time, will be a statue. And this is for certain — the man it depicts will be wearing a tracksuit.