Ciaran Clark is back in Toon - having eyed a possible move away from Newcastle next January.
Clark had an agreement with new club boss Steve Bruce that they would look at his options if he had failed to nail down a place in his United line-up.
But Clark has been the toast of Geordie fans since scoring the winner against Aston Villa last Saturday - after also netting in the 3-2 victory over West Ham the week before.
Bruce turned to the 30-year-old in a time of crisis - with sections of Newcastle's support already calling for him to quit the hot-seat after a 5-0 drubbing by Leicester City.
Since the Clark's return to the heart of Newcastle's defence, Bruce's fortunes have been on the up - the 1-0 win against Manchester United began a run of three wins and a draw in five games.
"In the back of your mind there's a thought that you won’t get a chance," admitted Clark. "Luckily enough the manager put me in and I’ve stayed there since.
"I didn't know what was going to happen. The manager came in quite late into pre-season, so there wasn't much time for anything to be done deals-wise.
"I just sat down with him and said this season I'd just love to be playing games. I'd had a couple of seasons where I was just in and out.
"He totally got that and said that he was just fresh in and wanted to look at everyone, that he couldn't be making big calls like that so early on, which I understood.
"It was a case of waiting to see what happened in this period up til January.
"He said, 'Look, if the situation hasn't changed at all, we'll look at something'. I said fair enough. That's all I wanted to hear, really.
"I gave my all. It was all about getting into the team, trying to get in there, and if I don't, I don't - I'd have given it a shot.
"Luckily enough I'm playing again. Hopefully I can stay there now, it's going to be tough but hopefully I can.
"Playing for the club has obviously got me my (Ireland) recall now, so it's been good."
Clark acknowledges that his chance came because Newcastle were on the slide. Bruce had to try other options.
"He wanted to change it up and give other players a go," he reflected. "He obviously thought I was working hard and maybe deserved a chance.
"When things are going like that, there's that chance that you might get back in".
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