Jamaal Lascelles believes that securing Premier League status has silenced some of the club's critics.
The centre-back guided United back to the top-flight in 2017 and has now skippered the Magpies to two consecutive campaigns in the Premier League.
Some people predicted that Newcastle might suffer from "second season syndrome" after last year's top 10 finish in their first term back in the big time but victory at Leicester keeps alive hopes of a strong finish and there is still a chance to better last season's points tally of 44.
Lascelles told the Chronicle: "We’ve proved people wrong again.
How Rafa Benitez masterminded another superb away win to lay down another message to Newcastle board
"It’s another season where we’ve been written off, but we’ve proved people wrong.
"Pundits seem to like going against Newcastle, saying, ‘Oh, they’re not good enough’ or ‘They haven’t spent the money’, but we’ve proved you don’t need to spend the money if you’ve got a good group of players in place."
Lascelles pointed to the example of Fulham - who spent £100million last summer - as a side that didn't quite have the chemistry this year.
He said: "Fulham went out and spent I don’t know how much money, and they’ve gone down.
"It’s about the manager, it’s about the fans and the support, and it’s about the players and how much they want it.
"We’ve got all three of those things in place, and when you combine them, you get a good team.
"It doesn’t matter about how much the price tag is for one player, it’s about the team and the city being as one.
"That’s why I think we’re so powerful as a club."
With four games left, with Southampton, Brighton, Liverpool and Fulham to come, Lascelles wants to kick on now.
He added: "I’d like to finish a bit higher and get a few more wins. I don’t want to be happy just being safe.
"But I’m proud of what we’ve done. From me becoming captain and lifting a trophy to last season finishing tenth, and hopefully this year ending up somewhere like that, it’s very special. A lot of people will be looking at it and thinking, ‘How are they doing that?’
"But like I said, it’s a combination of our work ethic, the manager and Newcastle as a city coming together.
"It’s really pleasing."
Rafa Benitez Press conference: Read the full transcript after the 1-0 win at Leicester
Newcastle's win at Leicester on Friday night meant there is now a 10-point gap between themselves and Cardiff. The Bluebirds lost at Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Lascelles said: "We’re over the moon.
"We knew it was going to be a really tough game.
"Leicester have got a lot of experience, and a lot of young flair players in their team who know what they’re doing.
"They’ve got a good manager, but we had a game plan that we’d worked on all week in training, and I think we really frustrated them. I think the manager will be over the moon.
"Everyone’s put in a real shift.
"The work rate from everyone was phenomenal, midfielders winning second balls, attackers running in behind, defenders battling with their players up front.
"Martin Dubravka came up with the goods when he was called upon, it was everyone.
"We’d been working hard in training, and with this team, whenever we need something, we always give 110 per cent. We definitely need to make sure we offer that because in games like that, it pays off.
"It says a lot about the character in the dressing room.
"We knew it was going to be difficult, but we believed in ourselves and kept on going.
"Ayo came through with some quality, and after that it was about holding on for the win.
"It takes us to 38 points. A lot of people will say we’re safe now, and we probably are, but we still have to take care of business, stay fresh and keep going."
