Eddie Howe admits that 11th place in the table felt a long way off when the club were slumped in the relegation zone last December.
Some outstanding form in 2022 has resulted in a strong second half of the season finish in the Premier League for Howe's Magpies. And United finish the campaign some distance from the bottom three in terms of points - something unthinkable during Howe's early days.
He said: "I’m not sure I could have said I’d have seen it coming, to be honest with you. "December was a very difficult month for us.
"We came in and on the horizon was a very tough month, with Liverpool and Manchester City, and we had a squad that was suffering with injuries at the time, then we suffered the low of Cambridge (in the FA Cup).
"This was a position that seemed a long, long way away then."
And paying tribute to the squad for their performance, Howe said: "I have to compliment the players for how they have dug in, for how they have united together. "There were plenty of examples throughout the team of players fighting for the shirt, giving their all, and I think the players deserve a huge amount of credit."
