Alan Pardew: "The Press were tough on him again at Wigan – I didn't think that tackle was bad at all.
"He genuinely went for the ball.
"He's made mistakes in the past, but of course whenever he does something slightly wrong it's 'bad old Joey' again.
"I don't think he deserves that at the moment. I hope he sticks to his path.
"He's been very level-headed in the dressing room, and on the pitch.
"At Spurs he got a bit angry, he didn't do anything wrong, but he knows that he walks a line between success and failure – and it's a thin line –but when he gets it right, he's the reason we win games.
"He's kept a cool head, and he continues to, like at Spurs.
"He could have easily boiled over, but he didn't. He had enough of it.
"Every set play he was running over to take it, and you don't have to be a football person to know that some of the abuse he's taking when taking a corner is disgusting.
"You shouldn't have to put up with that as a human being, but nothing gets said about that.
"Joey just gets on with it, and delivers another set play spot on.
"I just think Joey's been a revelation this year.
"What I've found in the four games we've had is that he's in the top three performances in the team.
"At Wigan, he was the best player I thought, although Cheik (Tiote) ran him close.
"Whoever the offensive player will be, will not impact on Joey.
"He'll be in the team. Whether it's right-back, left-back or centre-half – he'll be in the team. He can play anywhere."
