GOODBYE Championship, hello Champions League places. Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of Newcastle United’s unforgettable 3-2 victory over Barcelona, Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick and all, and they spent it back in the Premier League’s top four. So much for this side being unequipped for a return to the top-flight.

No one is seriously suggesting Newcastle will remain in the European positions for too long, but the transformation since the opening two games of the season has nevertheless been remarkable.

Saturday’s victory over Stoke City made it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time since November 2014, and means the Magpies have won three of their opening five league games in the top-flight for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.

Perhaps more importantly, the winning run has completely transformed the prevailing mood on Tyneside, dispelling the gloom that had descended in the closing days of the transfer window and forcing a rapid reassessment of the strength of the resources at Rafael Benitez’s disposal.

Yes, this is still a squad that lacks depth in key areas, and Benitez was right to pile on as much pressure as possible in an attempt to loosen Mike Ashley’s purse strings as August drew to an end. But unlike so many previous Newcastle squads, this is also a group with a strong sense of togetherness, a formidable work ethic and an absence of the kind of footballing mercenaries that once bled the club dry.

Throw in the momentum and confidence generated by last season’s Championship title triumph, not to mention Benitez’s tactical and motivational nous, and you have the requisite ingredients for the type of run that has taken the Magpies above Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal in the table.

“Of course people want you to sign players for £25m and bring in big names,” said Jamaal Lascelles, who proved the match winner for the second weekend in succession as he followed up his header at Swansea with another decisive intervention from a set-piece. “Everybody wants to do that.

“But we’re working with what we’ve got. It’s a similar squad to last year, with a few added players who have helped us. Having the success of last season has given us momentum, and as players, we know we’re good enough to give anyone a good run on the day, especially if we keep playing like this.

“Two seasons ago, it would have been a different story after they equalised. Back then, heads would drop if a side equalised against us and we’d be looking around asking, ‘Who is going to step up?’ But it’s not like that now. Individually and collectively, we roll up our sleeves and keep going. We’re completely different players with a different mentality, and we keep fighting until the whistle.”

Lascelles is the youngster skipper in the top-flight, and the centre-half finds himself presiding over a side with the youngest average age of all the Premier League teams.

Some might view Newcastle’s collective lack of experience as a weakness, but Lascelles regards it as one of the squad’s biggest strengths. There is no fear in the likes of Isaac Hayden, Mikel Merino and Christian Atsu, just a boundless reserve of energy and drive.

“We’ve got such a young team, and I think that gives us a big advantage in terms of our energy, which really counts when we play against teams a little bit older,” said the skipper. “Our average age is only about 25, and we can really get about the pitch and get down in people’s boots.

“Our inexperience is a strength. The energy is there, and we have big characters and a good mentality – no big-time players. Everybody has to work 110 per cent, and if they don’t, they will be sat on the bench.”

That work rate was certainly evident at the weekend as Newcastle triumphed in an entertaining encounter that saw both sides create a host of chances.

Having opened the scoring through Atsu’s back-post conversion of Matt Ritchie’s teasing cross, the Magpies would have been out of sight had Joselu converted the three opportunities that came his way either side of the interval. Instead, two efforts failed to find the target, while the third was saved by Jack Butland’s legs.

Stoke equalised when Xherdan Shaqiri swept a left-footed effort in the bottom corner after drifting across the face of the box, and Rob Elliot was forced to make three fine saves, the pick of which saw him claw away Mame Biram Diouf’s goalbound header.

Lascelles should really have scored in the first half when a free header drifted wide, but he made up for the miss as he converted Ritchie’s corner via the underside of the crossbar with 21 minutes left.

“I don’t think I’ve ever scored two in a season so early on,” he said. “But Matt Ritchie’s delivery is just so good. In the Championship, it’s more of a wrestling match in the box. Players will get hold of you, and they’re big, strong boys who defend set-pieces well.

“In the Premier League, no disrespect to teams, when they mark zonal, you can get a running jump. It’s something we’re working on, and I’d like to aim even higher.”