Eddie Howe did not get the chance to immediately address his Newcastle United players following their Carabao Cup final defeat because the Magpies boss was whisked away to speak to the media. However, Howe knew there would be a 'positive response' to this 2-0 defeat against Manchester United before he even set foot in the dressing room at Wembley on Sunday evening. Dan Burn vowed: "We will definitely be back" while Kieran Trippier insisted: "This is just the start."
It is certainly hard to imagine Newcastle having to wait another 24 years to reach a cup final and this side will only benefit from this painful experience in the long run. Who is to say Newcastle won't be back at Wembley next season? After all, anything can happen in 12 months.
You only have to look at what has changed in the last year to realise that. Karl Darlow, Jonjo Shelvey and Dwight Gayle were among the spectators at Wembley, but the trio were all regulars in the match day squad just a year ago when Newcastle were fighting relegation.
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This is no longer a club that 'ticks along' and Howe is ruthless enough to make some emotional decisions that could result in some of the current crop already being involved in their last cup final for Newcastle. Others will get another chance to end that long wait for silverware.
"Certainly some of the players will," Howe told reporters. "I'm sure the younger players will take all of those experiences and it will do them good.
"Not everyone is in the same situation and a football career is a very volatile thing so there will be some players that might not get back to Wembley. Who knows? What lies ahead for me? There are no guarantees in football. All you can do is try and improve from it."
Howe was keen to stress that there would be no 'overreaction' to this defeat - the reality is Newcastle have already overachieved this season - but senior figures at the club know what they need this summer as part of the next phase of this rebuild. Indeed, Newcastle started planning for next season several months ago.
Yes, Newcastle made a superb start to the season, but those wins were not sustainable over the course of a campaign with this squad and this side will need help. After all, with few alternatives, the bulk of the group have already played between 27 and 31 games this season and there are still three months of the campaign to go.
Yet is not going to be a drastic overhaul this summer. Howe is not the type to sign a boatload of players in one window and the club have to continue to work within the parameters of Financial Fair Play. It is all about signing the right player and maintaining the spirit and harmony that has got Newcastle this far in the last 12 months.
Clearly, though, further quality will be needed to take that next step against a side like Manchester United. Manchester United substitutes have scored 19 goals in all competitions this season - the most of any club in the big five European leagues - and the Red Devils have a squad filled with players with big-game experience, who have played in a number of finals before. That quality told on Sunday - even if Newcastle could have defended both of Manchester United's goals better in the build-up.
Take the smart substitution Erik ten Hag made at half-time on Sunday. It went a little under the radar, but the Manchester United boss took off Diogo Dalot, who was on a yellow card and struggling against Allan Saint-Maximin, and threw on Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
While Wan-Bissaka would not get into Newcastle's starting line-up, there are not many better back-up right-backs in the Premier League when it comes to defending one v one situations. It was not a coincidence that Saint-Maximin did not have quite the same influence after the break and Newcastle ultimately failed to seriously test David de Gea in the second half.
That was despite Newcastle being close to full strength with stars Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak, Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson all on the field after the break. In reality, not even suspended goalkeeper Nick Pope or cup-tied livewire Anthony Gordon would have changed the outcome of this game. Newcastle are going to need even more quality to finally end 54 years of hurt.
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