The Magpies bounced back at the first time of asking last season after they were relegated at the end of the 2008/09 season.

"I didn't expect Newcastle to come back so quickly," said Ferguson.

"You could sense there was going to be an upheaval in terms of players leaving and they did sell quite a few.

"It is not easy to go down and come back at the first go. Very few teams have done that over the years.

"But you have to give Chris Hughton credit. He wasn't everyone's choice as manager but he dealt with all the financial constraints Newcastle had last season and still got all his players playing for him.

"And with their fanatical support, they had a big advantage."