Sven Botman and Martin Dubravka's reactions to being left out said so much after Newcastle talks

Newcastle United did not get to celebrate their first victory of the campaign until December last season. The Magpies did not have to wait quite so long this time around as they started the new campaign with a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest on the opening day.

As is now tradition, players and staff gathered for a team photograph in the dressing room after the game. They say a picture paints a thousand words and that was certainly the case on Saturday.

A beaming Sven Botman, who only got on the field for the final minute of the game, has his left arm raised in triumph while Martin Dubravka, who lost his place to new signing Nick Pope, is roaring in delight. The pair's respective reactions sum up the togetherness, spirit and team-first mentality that Howe has been desperate to retain this summer.

It goes without saying, of course, that Botman and Dubravka were disappointed to have been left out, but the pair will have respected how Howe took them aside to explain his reasoning in the run up to the game. There was an occasion in a previous era where one Newcastle player first learned he was going to be dropped after reading about it in the press, but there was never any danger of that happening under Howe.

"I'll always speak to the players," the Newcastle boss told reporters on the eve of the match. "Big decisions need to be communicated. If you can give players an insight into your decision - not necessarily too much detail around it but certainly the key reasons why you've made the call - that can only benefit you and them."

For Dubravka, who has been first-choice at Newcastle for so long, it was a particularly devastating blow but the veteran never showed it. Dubravka previously worked with goalkeepers at other