as he attempts to get to grips with the pace and power of the Premier League.
He said: "The Premiership is tough. Probably tougher than I expected."
Alan Pardew said (back in January): "Papiss will set the Premiership alight, no doubt about that!"
But it hasn't happened yet.
Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa has also had his problems.
Alan Pardew: "Forget about the goal against Arsenal, because it's almost like we accept that from Hatem, he is going to produce a moment of magic for us.
"But of course, the structure of our team needs to be strong.
"We are not a dominant force - Hatem possibly wouldn't need to work so hard if he was at Manchester United, but in our team, he does, and he understands that.
"His performance at Arsenal was one of his best in terms of his diligence for the team.
"He understands that the team comes first, and I can't speak highly enough of where he is at the minute.
"He is one of our flair players in form, and we need one or two more to be.
"We are not firing on all cylinders - we need a win, probably, to do that, and that's what we are looking to do."