Newcastle United sit in a mightly impressive third place in the Premier League after a superb first half of the season with hopes still alive in both domestic cups.
You'd have to go back to December 2001 to have heard a statement like that about the Magpies because that was the last time that three paths to glory were still open at this time of year. Back then a quarter-final exit to Chelsea in the League Cup and a last-eight defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup ended silverware hopes before Newcastle finished the season in fourth place but led the table over Christmas that year under Sir Bobby Robson.
But there is genuine optimism that United can either qualify for Europe again, for the first time since 2012 or do well in one of the cups. And Eddie Howe is hardly playing down the prospect of winning something either.
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When asked if he'd visualised lifting a major trophy with Newcastle he said: "I probably have to be honest. "Visualisation and having those high expectations, naturally, you do have to do that. You have to try and see it in your own head and believe it's possible."
What are the odds though?
It's worth a reminder that we are still only at the 15-game stage in the Premier League but Newcastle are sitting pretty on 30 points in third spot. The Magpies have a four-point cushion over Man United who have a game in hand.
Last season Spurs needed 71 points to finish in the top four and book their place in the Champions League so there's still plenty of work to do for Howe's team. The bookmakers still feel that Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs will get the four places available in the competition for 2023/24.
Paddy Power have odds of a Champions League qualification for Newcastle at 11/10, Bet Victor at 5/4 and William Hill at 11/8. However, the fact that Howe's team are being spoken of at all to finish in the top four is remarkable given last season's fight against the drop.
United face AFC Bournemouth in the last 16 of the League Cup next and the odds on winning the competition for the first time in club history are 5/1 with a host of bookies. Man City are the strong favourites while Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs are well-fancied.
Much depends in the FA Cup on tonight's draw but pre-third round draw odds had Newcastle at 16/1 with Bet 365. Man City are the favourites to win it in 2023.
Eddie Howe not daunted by history
In the past, certain Newcastle bosses have tried to "manage expectations" with the Entertainers team casting a shadow over the club as the players struggled to live up to such dizzy heights. Howe has gone for the opposite approach in fairness.
Not only has Howe shown the current squad videos of former stars in the video room at Benton legends of the club have also been in to chat to players. Indeed, Supermac was on club grounds before the win at Southampton and chatted to Callum Wilson and Chris Wood in the build-up with a speech that included a line of "don't be afraid to miss chances" in big games.
When asked about replaying clips of former stars, Howe said: "It's important that the club understand the club they are playing for." The video screen at the front of the complex also reminded players that the club hadn't won a domestic trophy since 1955.
It is the opposite approach to previous bosses. And so far it seems to be working.
A tried and trusted formula but don't try to second-guess Newcastle
Howe has not moved away from a 4-3-3 formation this season and has told his team to go for the jugular in games. During a Callum Wilson interview ahead of the win at Spurs if he'd take a draw but smiled, played down the suggestion and insisted if Newcastle did things right they could win, and he was exactly right.
In every game, we've seen Howe set his team up in an attacking sense but also capitalise on weak areas of the opposition. United have been difficult to predict from set-pieces and have always had a training ground routine or two up their sleeves in matches.
Teams will be tirelessly trying to fathom Newcastle in the second half of the season but the aim is clearly to be a few steps ahead of the opposition. With Alexander Isak, Jonjo Shelvey and potential new signings to come in ahead of the second half of the season it may not be easy to work out what comes next.
A sturdy defence
Newcastle have conceded just 11 goals in the first 15 games with seven clean sheets from Nick Pope thrown in. That's the best in the division, an accolade only shared by league leaders Arsenal.
For many years United struggled to shake off the title of dodgy defence but these are different days on Tyneside. A picture of the back five celebrating success recently went viral on Twitter and even ended up being on a banner. But Sven Botman was quick to play this down recently and said "every player" had a part to play.
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