“I basically saw what a mess it was, but I’d signed a contract and committed to the job. I got on with it and the journey, from after the first six months – which was a real hard slog and graft and wasn’t looking that clever or feeling that comfortable – has only been really that small blip we had last season with all the injuries that put us down in the relegation zone.

“Everything else has been great progress and I’ve enjoyed working at the Club and the owners. I’ve taken great pride in working with a Club of this size and the plan of re-establishing it back in the Premier League is what I’ve done and what the owners asked me to achieve.

“I built a really good squad in the end. Altogether we’ve worked extremely hard to build that squad and I’ve managed that squad to get into the position we’re in now and it’s somebody else’s turn.

“It’s the right time for both of us. I look forward to the break and not having to commit myself like you have to commit in this job. At the end of the day, family is important and you have to sacrifice your family when you’re in this job.

85 days after they last managed to collect three points, United finally found a performance worthy of the word to repeat the feat and maintain their Premier League status for another season.

Hull City's inability to beat Manchester United may have meant the result was ultimately irrelevant in terms of our survival, but as a shot in the arm for both club and fans it was absolutely priceless.

The response from those long-suffering supporters to a heartening display was loud, proud and a timely reminder that amongst all the angst and rancour, a football club does still exist here.

In West Ham, the Magpies had ideal opponents in their quest to record a first win in eleven games - the mid-table visitors dreadful away travellers, already aware that manager Sam Allardyce was leaving and having barely trained since losing 1-2 at home to Everton eight days earlier.

Despite that though, it took almost an hour for the black and whites to conquer their own fears and heed the resolutely positive backing of an almost-full stadium. 

Benefiting from cheap tickets, the Hammers came in numbers but had little to cheer, contenting themselves with abusing Big Sham as his charges made it a dozen away games without a win. In Kevin Nolan they also had a potential party pooper, but the SJP old boy had only one opportunity to reach a century of career goals - and seemed unconcerned when shanking that shot well wide.

Available after suspension and having called a truce with Carver after accusations of desertion, Mike Williamson returned to central defence and Paul Dummett was able to take the left back position.

The absence of Mehdi Abeid and Gabriel Obertan from the squad points at their departure, while Fabricio Coloccini's expected appearance left him in peril of being the first Newcastle player ever to feature in two relegations (he played against Aston Villa in May 2009, on a day that messrs Krul, Gutierrez and Taylor all watched from the bench as unused substitutes).

Out went Ryan Taylor, Remy Cabella and Ayoze Perez, while there was a recall for Vurnon Anita, who like many will wonder why a decent display against West Brom saw him dropped at QPR.

The little Dutchman was to be rivaled in effort only by Jonas today, both popping up to gain and keep possession again and again, giving the side a more balanced look and better tempo - even if the quality of crosses remained rank. Partnering Emmanuel Riviere in a 4-4-2 line-up, Papiss Cisse added little to the wor effort and was well off the pace, although still putting in a shift.

John Carver's side won the ball from the kick-off and set up an attack that almost saw Riviere net at the Leazes end only to drag his shot across goal. Hearts were in mouths though when Williamson sent Enner Valencia tumbling in the area, Martin Atkinson ignoring half-hearted appeals.

Riviere then volleyed into the side-netting with an acrobatic effort but after Daryl Janmaat and Gutierrez failed to hit the target from distance the positive start from Newcastle began to wane.

News of two disallowed Hull goals filtered through and our increasing nervousness wasn't helped by Stewart Downing's run and shot - Krul coming off his line to smother with no offside flag appearing. 

Notions that there was to be a sting in the tale for the black and whites grew early in the second half after Janmaat beat a dallying Aaron Cresswell on the right and laid on a perfect centre for Riviere to miss completely. The vital breakthrough came just moments later though from Sissoko - who of all the Newcastle players on show owed this club something after his below-par efforts. 

Sissoko then crossed for Cisse but his header was blocked and Coloccini volleyed wide as Carver's side searched for a second while Reid headed just over at the other end - almost the only time in the second half that the ball went anywhere in the vicinity of Krul.

A golden chance to put the game - and the season - to bed was then made and missed by Anita with just eight minutes to play. Gutierrez gave away a free kick deep on the West Ham right deep in his own half, but when it was played short to Cresswell, Anita charged it down and hared upfield.

Bearing down on goal, it looked as if he would take a step to the left and evade Adrian before shooting home. Instead however he tried to play in Cisse - and a weak pass found the 'keeper.

With Hull still pressing against a Red Devils side down to ten men, a one goal lead remained some way off being comfortable and two visiting substitutes had a story to tell, had they netted. Morgan Amalfitano could have claimed retribution against the club who signed and then dumped his brother Romain, while Elliot Lee was born in Durham and happens to be the son of a certain Robert Lee.

Fortunately neither they nor anyone else clad in claret and blue were in the mood to spoil the celebrations, and Carl Jenkinson soon played his part in heightening them. With five minutes left, the on-loan Hammer unwittingly deflected a shot from Gutierrez past his own keeper at the Gallowgate End - six years to the day Damien Duff did exactly the same to send us down at Villa. 

A place in Geordie folklore secured in his final game - and having possibly inspired another movie ("Goal 4: never mind the bollocks") Santiago, sorry, Jonas peeled off his shirt and dashed to the halfway line. Joining Sissoko in the book for removing his shirt and avoiding Carver's attempted high-five, Gutierrez made an ear-cupping gesture to the Directors Box and shouted something incomprehensible, possibly "wanker".

The release of pent-up emotion in the stands was evident and a much-needed positive to end the season on. Unbelievably this was the first time SJP has witnessed a home win by more than one goal since May 2014 - yet another unrealistic demand from the supporters eh?

The final whistle prompted an mighty roar of relief but within a minute, a noisy chorus of "get out of our club" rang out - a timely reminder of grievances temporarily set aside but not forgotten.  

The last to depart was Gutierrez - after a TV interview on the field - while the large numbers of stewards weren't required with no obvious encroachment attempts. Fittingly, given the awfulness of 2015, no lap of 'honour' followed. A "thanks for your support" message appeared on the scoreboard.

Avoiding demotion by our own efforts meant that fan anger had dissipated and SJP soon emptied, aside from a few hundred in the Strawberry Corner who protested with chants and banners. 

None of those were evident when a virtually-sold out home crowd roared the team on to the field, 
setting aside anger and frustration that had grown during our appalling run to give whole-hearted support and it paid off, visibly lifting the side at times and creating a positive atmosphere.

Many fans had seen Mike Ashley interviewed by Sky before kickoff on TVs around SJP, although footage wasn't broadcast on the big screen. Timing and content were questionable, but underlined a club-wide desire to secure the win - and an awareness of the dire consequences of not doing so. 

It's hard to imagine Ashley breaking his silence had we been safely in mid-table and fan discontent wasn't as clearly evident. For whatever reason though (and it may be as simple as the number of cancelled season tickets), he's spoken and in doing so answered one criticism of his regime. 

Whether what he said proves to be any more accurate than previous discredited utterances from this administration remains to be seen, but a sure-fire way of undermining himself would be to leave John Carver in post, regardless of what Ashley may claim about having no part in the decision. We just about got away with doing nothing once, fudging it again just isn't an option.

A re-imagining or at least a restating of goals and objectives needs to be allied to decisive action in the transfer market and the installation of a genuine football manager with the genuine football knowledge that is noticeably lacking in every other level of the organisation. 

The question of quite why such a candidate would be willing to work within our "template" remains unanswered though and for a new manager to accept the existing backroom staff would be to dilute the desired effect to the point of ridiculousness. That new broom in the dressing room doesn't just need to sweep away unwanted players who contribute nothing, there's plenty of other dead wood.