The feel-good factor is creeping back in at Newcastle

What a difference a month makes, eh?

This time last month we’d come off the back of a terrible December in the league, had been knocked out of two cup competitions and were fearful of being knocked out of our final cup competition by lowly Sunderland.

In reality, we needn’t have worried about the derby; but it was a very Newcastle United-like banana skin that we avoided slipping on.

I dread to think what the reaction from some corners of the supporter base would have been like had we lost the derby, and I had similar fears on the way to Fulham on Saturday. On paper, it’s a team we should be beating, but they had a strong record at home and our away record hasn’t made for good reading this season. Many would have lost their minds at going out of another competition at this stage.

The game itself wasn’t a particularly pretty watch either. Fulham were effective in breaking up our momentum, but ultimately the better side won. The atmosphere, on the other hand: sensational.

Whether you want to chalk it up to a last-minute decision by the club to forego ID checks (surely that many people didn’t give their tickets up at a moment’s notice?), Shearer’s presence or our renewed vigour to challenge for the FA Cup, the away end was in thunderingly full voice.

This season, we’ve struggled to transfer the atmosphere from the concourse to the stands, but we didn’t falter once at Fulham; it was 90 minutes of loud, raucous chanting. Perhaps it spurred the team on? Either way, it was encouraging to see us book an extremely rare place in the fifth round.

Villa away was a match I swore I wouldn’t go to; I planned to bank any work holidays for the potential of Europe again last season, but it didn’t take much to twist my arm into going. It was one of only a few games this season I confidently saw us getting battered in, so it was very pleasantly surprising to see such an emphatic win.

It made a ridiculous journey worth it; not even 10 minutes on the road, our bus crashed into a van with a trailer before we even got to the Angel of the North (no injuries, thankfully), and we were stuck there for another two and a half hours waiting for medics and the police to complete their checks and for another coach to turn up. Said coach promptly turn around partway into the journey because we’d forgotten a pickup. Thankfully, we made it to the ground in time for kickoff!

Tuesday’s atmosphere was also excellent; and perhaps surprisingly so, given it was a sub-zero night in the East Midlands that a lot of people had given a miss because of the aforementioned fear of a drubbing.

It might be early days, but it feels like we’re turning our season back around. A lot is riding on the FA Cup now that it’s our only chance of a trophy, so a win against a decent Fulham side is encouraging.

The Villa performance genuinely feels like a turning point in our season. It’s not too dissimilar to the battering we handed out at St James; but the trajectory of the two clubs has been different since that match (which, by the way, feels like a million years ago).

To be so confident in both attack and defence against a side that’s been dominant for so much of this season – and hadn’t lost at home in almost a full calendar year – was impressive. And while Leon Bailey may have briefly had the run of him, fears about Dan Burn against Diaby were quickly dispelled. He had probably one of his best first halves in black and white. Lewis Miley stood out, covering almost every blade of grass on the pitch. Bruno once again showing what a classy and intelligent player he is. Lovely Fabian getting some deserved goals. An excellent night all round.

This sets us up well for a kind run of fixtures. Now we’ve got the hardest ones out of the way – having played Liverpool, Man City and Aston Villa twice now – we can focus on finding some form, bringing some much-needed players back from injury and going on a solid cup run.

A little shout-out to not losing any players this month too. The idea of losing Kieran Trippier made me feel physically sick, given that he’s so much more than a player. It was a boost to hear him say he’s fully committed to us. It would have been silly to let the likes of Almiron and Callum Wilson go too, given our injury situation (and the fact they’re so passionate about the club).

Yes, it might have only been two matches – but they were two enormous matches that allowed us to make a statement, boost morale and confirm that we’re taking the FA Cup seriously (finally).

Long may this run continue.