This evening we welcome Thomas Frank and his Brentford side to St. James’ Park as we return to Premier League action. Brentford are one of the clubs who are well-placed for a strong finish to the season, so we know what a difficult match it will be tonight.

I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that it’s been an extraordinary couple of weeks for our club, and the city of Newcastle too. Everyone in the football world was aware of Newcastle’s long wait for a trophy, and we knew when we arrived here in late 2021 what it would mean to everyone if we could be part of an era that changed that, and that has served as a huge motivation ever since.

But I doubt any of us could have been prepared for what happened on that memorable day at Wembley, or during the time since. In terms of the game itself, the biggest compliment I can pay the players is that I felt we were the better team and fully deserved to win which, when you consider we were playing by far and away the best team in England this season, shows how well we executed our plan.

This is a really special group of players with so many individual stories and journeys which have led to this point. None more so than Dan Burn, who scored the first goal at Wembley to set us on our way, helping his boyhood club win a trophy – all in the same week he received an England call-up and returned to Wembley to make his debut. It is just such an honour to lead this group of players and watch from close quarters how hard they work every day.

The scenes at the final whistle are a bit of a blur. The outpouring of so many emotions in the stadium, from relief to euphoria and pure joy when we finally lifted the trophy. If anything, the scenes in Newcastle a few days ago when we brought the trophy back to the city were even more emotional and will forever live in the memory. To see so many people, families, different generations together celebrating as one was just so special.

While this is undoubtedly a big moment, our aim must now be to make sure it’s the first of many trophies, and a period of success for the club. To see what this has done for the city is just a huge motivation to want more for everyone, and that is now the challenge ahead. The season is far from over, and we need to use this success as a springboard for the remaining games to make the most of the moment.

It won’t be easy, as the Premier League is more open and competitive this season than it has been for a very long time. But after such a memorable few weeks, the players are extremely focussed, have trained well, and as has always been the hallmark of this squad, they want more. As ever, they will need your help to achieve that, and as the last few weeks have once again reminded us, when we all work together and stay united as a club, we can achieve anything.