Alan Pardew: "There has just been so much nonsense written about it. His agent sent me an e-mail saying he was misquoted, and I actually believe him.
"I am not usually one to believe agents that much, but I do believe him on this occasion, and I also think Demba's anger has been generated in the right way - to improve for Newcastle United.
"There is no way that Demba can play every game this season. He is going to miss some other games - so will Shola [Ameobi] and so will Papiss [Cisse].
"The best thing we can do is try to play the best players we have and get a win, and Demba led from start to finish today - not just his goal - in the dressing room, everything about him was top drawer.
"I can understand why Ba gave Cisse the ball for he penalty.
"Players look after players. You would be surprised - it's not as cut-throat as maybe the media sometimes put out. They genuinely wanted him to score the goal and I could see that."