By Craig Hope For The Irish Daily Mail
Published: 22:32 GMT, 20 January 2019 | Updated: 00:45 GMT, 21 January 2019
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On Saturday morning Newcastle United were a club in the relegation zone with an absent owner hoping to sell, a manager whose mood was as low as their league position and disenchanted supporters starved of a hero to embrace.
Come tea-time a beaming Mike Ashley bounced into Rafa Benitez's office to offer congratulations on a win that takes them two points clear of danger, while fans saluted an unlikely two-goal idol in the form of centre-back Fabian Schar.
The club, it now appears, will not be sold and Ashley - back at St James' Park for the first time since early November - has opened talks with Benitez over transfer plans for the remainder of the month. His presence, however, was still a lightening rod for supporter hostility.
Rafa Benitez was finally given reason to smile as Newcastle comprehensively beat Cardiff
Even by Newcastle's dysfunctional standards it felt like a crazy day, but one which could yet prove extremely significant, both on and off the park.
It is rare to see Benitez smiling after a home fixture - his eight defeats
