Eddie Howe celebrated a "huge achievement" as Newcastle United sealed Champions League qualification despite losing 1-0 to Everton on the final day of the Premier League season.

Everton could not spoil the party at a nervy St James' Park on Sunday, in spite of Carlos Alcaraz getting the decisive goal midway through the second half.

Newcastle scraped into the top five on goal difference, though, with Aston Villa going down 2-0 at Manchester United.

The Magpies had won six successive home league matches before this loss, but that disappointment was dwarfed by the elation of a return to the Champions League.

Howe acknowledged the enormity of the achievement, which he lauded as an important moment in the recent history of the club.

He told BBC Sport: “It feels great, the achievement is huge.

"Naturally, when you lose the game there’s a feeling of disappointment, but I think we have to override that with [the fact that] over the 38 games, we deserved to qualify for the competition. It’s a huge moment for the club.”

Newcastle have now qualified for Europe's top competition in two of the last three seasons, and Howe believes his side will be better equipped this time around having already competed in it, even if the format has changed.

Howe said: “I think the experience we had there the first time will help us no end, I think.

"We felt we grew through the competition, so I think we are stronger.

"I think we are better prepared both physically and mentally for the competition ahead. We suffered a bad injury crisis [last] season as well, so lessons need to be learned from that and hopefully, if they can be, we can be successful.”

Everton manager David Moyes was delighted with the application of his side, as they rounded off the season with three successive wins for the first time in Premier League history.

The Toffees were always guaranteed to finish in 13th place no matter the result, yet still came away with a victory at one of the toughest venues in the league, leaving Moyes thoroughly impressed.

Moyes told Everton TV: "It's as good a result as maybe we've had, because of the position we were in, we couldn't move up or down in the table.

"That's why I think the result was big for us - in terms of what was at stake for Newcastle and us having had our big day last week at Goodison [Park]."

The Scotsman returned to the club with Everton just one point above the relegation zone, but they end the campaign closer to the top four after a fine run of form, with just three teams accuring more points than Moyes' side since his reappointment.

Moyes is hopeful of taking that momentum into the new stadium next season and took the opportunity to thank the fans for all they had given the club during the season.

He said: "I want to take this into the new stadium along with the atmosphere of Goodison. The support has been magnificent, so now we need to all come together and enjoy it."