He went on strike wanting a move to Arsenal in the summer, and skipped the Cardiff City fixture because he didn't want to be cup-tied in the FA Cup.
Alan Pardew admitted that the January transfer window interest in the Toon ace made him “nervous.”
While Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris St-Germain have all been linked with the star – the latter only yesterday reported to be pondering a £26m bid – the player says he is focused on trying to beat Newcastle’s points tally of 2012 – when they finished fifth.
Cabaye: “I think we are good enough to stay where we are. We don’t have too look too high.
“We are in a good position and we are winning games.
"We have 36 points and it’s very good. We can do better than two seasons ago when we finished fifth in terms of points.
"The top five or six is very solid. First we have to win our games then we will see what happens.
“For me I just want to do my best for the team and be in good form for the World Cup. That is the most important thing.
“We did well – and we deserved to win.
“The goal just before half-time which we conceded it put us in trouble a bit for the second half. But we were strong and stayed solid. We deserved to win.
“Unfortunately we didn’t score more than two goals. We played well against City and our confidence didn’t move.
“We are just enjoying it on the pitch. We showed what we can do.
“I enjoy being on the pitch and just want to do my best for my team and team-mates. I can score of course.
“I want to be in the box and try to hit the target, I scored twice so I am very happy.
“The most important thing is the team did well. So for me I am very happy.
“Even if we hadn’t played well, the most important thing was the win. Fortunately for us we done both. Confidence is very, very nice so now we have to carry on and keep working hard to stay where we are."