"This puts the Rams in another stratosphere. They've got a lot of talent and speed on that defense. How are you going to block three guys who can win one-on-one matchups more times than they don't? Mark McAdam, who was on the club's staff at the time and has gotten to know Howe well in the years since. But within 18 months, the club had retained their league status before then winning promotion the following season, the start of a decade-long journey which would, eventually, lead him to St James' Park. The Rams aren't looking towards the future. Far from it, they revel in the fact that they are bang in the middle of their 'Super Bowl window', focussing very much on the present. They might have had more work to do had George Saville's first-time effort from Jamal Lewis' square beaten Donnarumma moments after half-time, before Mancini ditched his plan to operate with Insigne as a false nine and brought on Gianluca Scamacca as his search for a goal became more pressing.