Matt Targett has admitted he always felt Newcastle United were "too good" to go down this season. Having joined the club in January from Aston Villa on loan, Targett now feels United are safe after hitting the "Magic 40" mark.
It was a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace that pushed Newcastle to probably safety with Targett a strong contender for man of the match. Speaking after the win over the Eagles, Targett said: "I thought the first half we were really good and showed quality on the ball. We caused Palace a lot of problems, the second half we kind of sat back and found it hard to string passes together.
"It was more difficult but we ground it out and we showed we were a team again. It has been an unbelievable, looking from the outside I always thought the squad was too good to be where it was.
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"Coming in at the end of January with a few more signings has gave the team a boost. The manager and the coaching staff have been brilliant.
"That all works together and we work very hard on the training pitch and on match days. It's been some turnaround and now we are on the magical 40 points mark."
Reflecting on his own personal performance, Targett, who was watched by Scotland coach John Carver ahead of a potential World Cup play-off call-up, added: "Defensively I was really solid, I put on one free-kick for Joelinton at the start of the second half too.
"You got to change the way you play when you have somebody like Allan Saint-Maximin in front of you. It's all about getting the right balance for the team. Each game is different with Maxi or whoever else is in front of you."
Targett stated after the win over Leicester that he wanted to stay permanently on Tyneside if something could be "sorted out" by owners. Talking about his future after May 22, Targett, speaking to BBC Newcastle, said last night: "I am really enjoying my time here and it's been good fun."
