Steve Bruce says he will leave it up to others to judge whether reaching 42 points with six games to go qualifies as a successful season so far.
Many had written United off as relegation candidates at the start of the season while the bookies had the Magpies as dead certs for the drop on the back of their 5-0 loss at Leicester City.
When asked whether he'd done enough to stave off all of his critics, Bruce said: "I will let other people judge that.
"But I have always said from day one I want what is best for the club. I am a Geordie who wants the club to do well.
"I have always relished a challenge.
"I said no matter how tough it was going to be to come here and enjoy it.
"Who knows it might be the last one (job in football).
"That is how I looked at it.
"Let's see what happens next."
However, United have a great chance of climbing into the top 10 if they beat West Ham at the weekend.
Bruce added: "“If we could do that, it would be great for everybody concerned.
"“Can we get ourselves in the top ten? I would be delighted if we could – it would be some achievement."
And when asked about fierce critics, Bruce went on: "A lot of people wrote everybody off, including myself and the players, but they’ve responded in the right way.
"I’m delighted for them.
"You roll your sleeves up and say, ‘I’ll show them’. It makes you work harder and spurs you on.”
