Alan Pardew: “I’ve had a great relationship here with Joey.
“He’s got four or five years, maybe six, still left at the very top.
“And if he stays in the space he’s in now, he will have a successful period.
“I think I understand him and, in my own way, I’ve tried to assist him and in the process he’s delivering.
“Make no doubt about it, he’s had help from Sporting Chance and his mentors, as well as Chris Hughton and me.
“But it’s all about Joey – and he has to be able to see it through.
“He doesn’t drink alcohol now and that is a wise decision given the character that he is, and you have to pay credit to him for that.
“Joey is not a normal footballer, he is quite eccentric.
“His eccentricity extends to his game too and he does things on a football pitch that are eccentric at times.
“That’s what makes him the player that he is.
“He has been consistent on the pitch because he’s been consistent off it with his behaviour.
“And Joey’s behaviour is a reflection of where he is at.
“He carries his heart on his sleeve a little bit still and there have been games we’ve played when I can see he’s been upset.
“When he’s upset it can affect him. At Fulham he was upset about something – and I won’t go into reasons why – and he didn’t play well.
“Nobody understands it better than himself, and no one has worked harder at it than him.
“You have to pay him full tribute for that.
“From where he was not that long ago it is a tremendous feat.”
