Newcastle scramble over the line

Newcastle United's players got the message loud and clear before kick-off with a giant banner stretching the length of the famous Gallowgate End reading: "You entered the pitch as players, you left it as legends."

It could all have been so different when Everton led and Aston Villa were drawing at Manchester United.

But events elsewhere ensured Newcastle's players and manager Eddie Howe were able to take a glorious lap of honour at the final whistle and bask in the afterglow of a campaign that brought success at home and a passage into the Champions League.

Newcastle were nowhere near their best as Everton controlled the game in front of an increasingly frantic St James' Park crowd, and the Geordie nerves were really jangling when Carlos Alcaraz stole in on Vitaliy Mykolenko's cross to beat Nick Pope with 25 minutes left.

There was a stunned silence until huge roars swept round the stadium in an attempt to shake Newcastle out of the anxiety that had gripped them from kick-off.

In the end, the loudest cheers came from those following events at Old Trafford, as Manchester United's belated attempt to secure some joy from a dismal season by beating Aston Villa spread all the way to Tyneside.

There was still a short wait after the final whistle until Villa's crucial defeat was confirmed, allowing Newcastle and their supporters to officially celebrate qualification for the Champions League.