He is the latest to achieve the honor, which has gone to Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer, Fabian Schar and Bruno Guimaraes from the Magpies in the past.
He told Chronicle Live: The highs, last season was massive for us. We were consistent last season, a very difficult team to break down. But this season has been a bit of a rollercoaster with injuries, the limited players we've had available.
The lows are probably the December month, to be honest with you for me personally, for my performances. I know I can do much better and hopefully I've turned a corner. Every player goes through that moment, it's just how you react to it.
"It was a strange one, really. I was just making a mistake and then making another mistake. I think the break came at the right time and that gave me time to reflect and analyze why I was making those mistakes. As I do every game win, lose or draw, I always watch the games back and it's just going back to basics, really.
I don't know. I haven't got any excuses, really. It's just you make a mistake and you want to try even better and then because you're trying too hard, you make another mistake, and it's not me."