THERE are lots of attributes that will be needed if you’re going to have a successful season. Talent, creativity, attacking flair. The hope is that Newcastle United will be showcasing all three as the campaign develops.

Every now and then, though, a different, less aesthetically-pleasing, skillset is required. Togetherness, commitment, willpower. A never-say-die approach in which individual excellence is sacrificed for the good of the team.

Two seasons ago, when Newcastle gatecrashed the top four to qualify for the Champions League, their success was built on the strength of the spirit engendered by Eddie Howe. It was the Magpies against the world, with a mastery of the ‘dark arts’ riling opposition managers and uniting the players wearing black-and-white.

So, while Saturday’s backs-to-the-wall win over Southampton was hardly perfect, with Newcastle failing to get anywhere close to their peak attacking standards even before Fabian Schar’s controversial dismissal reduced them to ten men, it might turn out to have been the ideal start to the new season.

Fuelled by a powerful sense of injustice after Ben Brereton Diaz threw himself to the floor to get Schar sent off, Newcastle’s players pulled together to deny Southampton in a remarkably one-sided second half that saw their opponents enjoy more than 80 per cent possession. Tackles were made willingly. Blocks were produced with relish. Organisation and concentration never wavered. This was the Magpies determined to upset the odds. Channel those emotions over the course of the next nine months, and who knows what expectations might be successfully confounded.

“I think we have to carry that mentality right through the season,” said Howe. “We have to grab that sentiment because the season we finished fourth, we had that running through us. We were written off, we were criticised, you name it, there was a lot of stuff thrown at us.

“Of course, when you're then successful, a lot of plaudits come and that's dangerous sometimes. I'm not saying you want criticism, but you want to feel like you're fighting against the odds.

“I'll certainly take that mindset (from Saturday’s game) because we were against the odds, we were fighting to try to get something from the game and the players did that magnificently.”

Schar’s 28t-minute dismissal was the game’s pivotal moment, with the Swiss centre-half falling into Brereton Diaz’s trap after the Southampton striker initiated the altercation by pushing his opponent in the chest.

Schar pushed back, but then overstepped the line when he leaned his head into Brereton Diaz’s face. The Chilean international’s reaction was pathetic, but as an experienced international defender, used to facing intense provocation, Schar should have known much better. Once Craig Pawson brandished a straight red card, it was never going to be overturned.

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How would Newcastle react to adversity? They were aided by the goalkeeping error from Alex McCarthy that enabled Alexander Isak to tee up Joelinton for the goal that meant they had something to hold onto throughout the second half. But even so, the quality of their defensive work was remarkable.

Dan Burn was a colossus at the heart of the back four, throwing his body in the way of shots and rising highest to deal with crosses into the middle. Emil Krafth, who replaced Jacob Murphy in the wake of Schar’s dismissal to ensure Newcastle kept four defenders on the field, was equally effective, sticking as tight as possible to former Magpie Adam Armstrong.

It was in midfield that the Magpies really excelled though, with Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sean Longstaff all willingly sacrificing their attacking output in order to shut down Southampton attacks. Joelinton, in particular, was sensational, running himself into the ground as he galloped after Southampton’s midfielders before barging his opponents off the ball. The extent to which Joelinton has transformed his career under Howe has been well discussed, but it remains remarkable. As Alan Shearer rightly opined on Match of the Day, in the space of a couple of seasons, the Brazilian has evolved into one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

“I think our midfield three epitomised everything we were about,” said Howe. “Because the way we set up tactically after the sending-off was to try to keep bodies central, but also try to give ourselves a threat with the front two.

“We felt that was the best way to stay competitive in the game, to try to give them an attacking thought to think about. But in doing that, your midfield three have to cover some ground, they have to be tactically excellent, and I have to say Joelinton, Bruno and Sean together produced a superb rearguard display in terms of covering space, defending our box, blocking shots. Without that performance from them, I think that game would probably have been lost.”

Instead, Newcastle started the season with an opening-day home win for the third season in a row, albeit that Saturday’s success could hardly have been more different to last year’s flamboyant dismantling of Aston Villa.

Plenty of questions still need to be answered. Will Newcastle get the new centre-half that is now even more vital? Where does Kieran Trippier stand given that he did not make it onto the field despite the defensive pressure his side were facing, with Howe turning to Krafth and Lloyd Kelly instead? How long will it take Anthony Gordon to get back to peak sharpness?

Ultimately, though, given the situation in which they found themselves, this was a satisfying opening day. “It was great to see the players stick together, physically standing up for each other,” concluded Howe. “You need that throughout the season, you need that, ‘No one is going to break us’ mentality.” Add some extra quality, and it should serve Newcastle well.