"I was down in the dumps here when he came to Newcastle. I would have had to leave, that's how bad it was," he said.
"I was playing in a certain way that wasn't good for the team and wasn't good for myself.
"He came in and spotted that and analysed me. He had a chat with me and he changed me around.
"He saved my career in a way because I wasn't playing well at the time.
"He got me back to playing the way I know I can."