Dwight Gayle put United ahead at St. James’ Park, and Ayoze Pérez’s second half brace added extra gloss to what was a dominant display from Rafa Benítez’s men.

Midfielder Hayden made a substitute appearance as the Magpies finished the campaign in style, earning a tenth-place finish in the Premier League.

And the 23-year-old told nufc.co.uk he was delighted to have been able to play his part in the final-day victory.

“It was fantastic to come on,” said Hayden. “It’s not been the best time personally for me since January, but to get some minutes on the pitch today was very nice.

“It was unbelievable. To have won 3-0 against Chelsea, a top, top side, is a great result. Maybe they weren’t quite at it today but, to a man, the lads were fabulous from start to finish.

“You couldn’t really find a negative to say about the performance. I think after the first half people were sitting there thinking, ‘it’s only 1-0, we could be in trouble here if we don’t get a second or third goal’. But we managed to do so, and the rest is history.”

The form of central midfield pairing Jonjo Shelvey and Mo Diamé has limited Hayden’s time on the pitch in recent weeks, but the former Arsenal man has still had 29 outings in all competitions for Newcastle.

And he said that, after a gruelling campaign, it’s now time to recharge ahead of the start of another one in just a couple of months’ time.

“It’s been a long season – not as long as last season which was different type of pressure, with the pressure to get back up and try to win promotion,” said Hayden. “This season it’s been the pressure of staying up, and bad results that we weren’t used to last year.

“You have to come through different emotions. It’s about resting from that, and then mentally preparing yourself to start again in what is a crazy football season.”