Like Tykes clash why Isaac joined ‘fantastic’ club

However, Newcastle now head to Ipswich Town tomorrow determined to take another step towards automatic promotion and Hayden wants to secure that Premier League status so he can experience more St James’ Park atmospheres like the one which filled the stadium on Friday night.

“I knew that before I joined – I knew this was a fantastic club to play football at,” the 22-year-old explained.

“It was a sell-out crowd against Leeds. It felt like a Premier League game, it felt like a massive game.

“The crowd certainly played their part. It was a very raucous atmosphere.

“It was just disappointing to concede that late goal.

“There are four games left so not many games left to get points.

“It is just down to us now to make sure that, in the last few games, we make sure we secure maximum points and that gives us the best opportunity.”

Hayden was sidelined for two months from February following ankle surgery and initially made a return off the bench against Wigan Athletic a fortnight ago.

However, the midfielder admits he came back a little too soon – but now feels fresh and ready to contribute during the final four matches follow- ing an impressive 79-minute display against Leeds.

“It has been tough but it is what it is,” Hayden said of the ankle injury which sidelined him for a crucial period of the season.

“I had to have the ankle operation done. I could not carry on playing with that.

“Then once I came back I was working really hard to get back into the team, trying to do as much training as I could to feel fit.

“Then I came back against Wigan and it did not quite feel right.

“I was not quite ready in myself. I had a few hamstring niggles.

“It was very frustrating but that is football. The lads who came in were just as good players.

“Everyone trusts each other to do a job.

“I managed to get that right and felt good against Leeds.

“It was nice to get more than 70 minutes in the tank and hopefully I can kick on from there.

“It was just gutting to lose that goal against Leeds.

“We have to look at the bigger picture from that game because we played quite well and we certainly improved on the games we have had over the past few weeks.

“As long as we take the three points on Monday we should be OK.”