'Nervous wreck': Newcastle United full-back Matt Targett admits he was not comfortable at St James' Park on Sunday

Things didn't go Newcastle United's way at St James' Park on Sunday, but thankfully, Manchester United were on hand to give the Magpies a hand in securing their place in next season's Champions League.

Had Newcastle beaten Everton on Sunday, nothing else would have mattered, but for whatever reason, Eddie Howe's men couldn't get the job done and ultimately had to rely on Aston Villa getting beaten by Manchester United, who had been shocking all season.

Somehow, Ruben Amorim managed to fire his players up enough to put in a good performance, while Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez decided to say his goodbyes early, getting himself sent off in the first half.

Then there was the referee who ruled out what appeared to be a perfectly good Morgan Rogers goal. Although replays have since shown that the referee may have been lucky and got it right, as Rogers trod on the goalkeeper's hand.

Matt Targett said he was checking scores throughout the game on Sunday

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Matt Targett said he thought the ref got it spot on at Old Trafford, but later he was asked about how they were all feeling on the sidelines as the game was going on.

"To be fair, I was in the stands, I was a nervous wreck. I kept looking at the results, I was like 'oh no', but I think the Manager said he didn't know about any of the results, he just wanted to win.

"It's hard to believe, but that's what he said. I'm sure someone will have told him. I was disappointed we couldn't end with a win, but the main result is that we got Champions League."

We expect Matt Targett will not be at Newcastle next season

Whether Matt Targett will still be a Newcastle United player as they return to the Champions League remains to be seen.

The former Aston Villa man has hardly played since making his loan move a permanent one, thanks to a series of injuries that have kept him sidelined for a lot more games than he's played.

From our perspective, it makes sense to offload him as soon as possible. He's reportedly on a pretty high wage, too, albeit not as high as the £150k-a-week we often see quoted. Regardless, he's being paid for sitting in the treatment room, so it's better we just cut our losses and move him on if we can.