Make no mistake about it, Newcastle United's first Wembley appearance for a domestic cup final in 24 years was way ahead of schedule for the new era. But that does not make the pain of Sunday's Carabao Cup final any easier to digest right now for any of the players or fans.
The Magpies gave their best, but on the day it was simply not enough to overcome the Premier League's most in-form side. It was a final settled by margins, with a costly seven-minute spell along with the experience and know-how of seasoned veterans proving decisive for Manchester United..
Newcastle were ruthlessly punished, firstly from a set-piece once more before Marcus Rashford found the net with an effort that was cruelly deflected beyond the reach of Loris Karius. From this moment onward, Erik ten Hag made steady changes to kill the game as a contest and to leave the Toon Army to rue more questions of what might have been.
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If the blow of defeat is softened in anyway just one day on, it is the recognition that Newcastle will be back. In contrast to previous Wembley heartbreak, there is a recognition that this is a team which is only at the beginning of a journey.
Eddie Howe has acknowledged the Magpies need to 'bridge that gap' when it comes to disrupting and ultimately succeeding against the so-called 'Big Six'. Financial Fair Play means it will take time over the coming transfer windows, with ten Hag's capacity to introduce the likes of Jadon Sancho from the bench testament to strength in depth Newcastle need to acquire over time.
However, both Howe and Newcastle can perhaps take heart from the approach taken by recent adversary Jurgen Klopp as to how the Liverpool boss responded to his first final defeat on Merseyside. The Reds have now won every trophy possible under their manager since his appointment in October 2015, having secured both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup last season with penalty shootout victories over Chelsea.
It took almost four years for Klopp to seal his first trophy with the club though, with the first setback coming just months after his arrival with defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final. Two years later, the Reds were one win away from being crowned champions of Europe, only to lose out to familiar foes Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Klopp held the unenviable managerial record of only winning one of seven cup finals at this point, but this record has long since been forgotten by a period of sustained success. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson previously reflected on how the manager responded to that first final loss, and how he stressed the confidence of it being the 'start of something special'.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "That night always sticks out to us, I always remember it just because I can remember after the game going back to the hotel. Obviously, all of the lads are disappointed and you just want to go back to your room and not see anyone. The gaffer was a bit different to what you would expect, he had everyone downstairs together in the bar area and we just spent the night together.
"I felt that he knew this was the start of something special to come. As a player, it's very difficult to think that then when you've just lost a final, but I always felt he was very different to what I'd seen before and that night always sticks out in my mind. He sort of knew what was coming in the next few years and I feel he's produced that and he's proven that was the beginning of something special."
The parallels are clear to see, even if the nature of the jobs inherited by Klopp and Howe differ. Klopp's success with Borussia Dortmund transmitted the widespread confidence that success on Merseyside was just around the corner, even after defeat.
Whether it was a show for his players or a steadfast belief from within, it allowed the Reds boss to respond in this fashion and pick his squad up off the floor to go again. Doom and gloom may be the order of the day on Tyneside for the coming hours and days, but Howe must look to utilise this same belief that for the Magpies, this can and will be the 'start of something special'.
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