St James' Park Has The Feel Of Old Trafford

"He's the man everyone looks up to, and when he walks onto the training pitch everyone steps up a level.

"The set-up here now is also similar to Old Trafford. The manager and the staff there were always 100 per cent every day in training, and the gaffer is obviously trying to promote that here.

"He's obviously a no-nonsense manager. From an outsider's view looking in on his time at Bolton, he looked like a tough man to play for and would take no crap, and I'm sure he'll be the same here.

"He's come in, set up a whole new regime, with new training methods and an emphasis on dedication and commitment. He's made it clear that no player here can take anything for granted.

"The gaffer's had a chat with us all, telling us he expects us to work hard every day in training.

"We have heart monitors on to check that we are training hard, and if he thinks we're not performing even in training and not applying ourselves right, we'll not be selected on a Saturday.

"Maybe over the last few years here, people have expected to play if they are performing well or not.

"Last year, a few of us maybe didn't put ourselves on the line, both in training and in games, but still expected to play week in, week out.

"Everyone's guilty of that sometimes. Everybody can take their eye off the ball now and again. But with wearing a monitor, you can't really do that now.

"Everyone is happier now. At the end of last season we were all upset; all peed off about the season that had gone by and the way things had shaped out.

"But now it's a new season, a new start. We're all together now and keen to keep it that way.

"Obviously, I didn't get a great reception when I first came back, and I'd like to think that, the way I've been brought up in life — and in football — is to stick two fingers up at people.

"I've tried to do that and hopefully I'll do that over the next few years.

"To have the fans on your side here though is a great thing because they are very passionate . . . hopefully I can keep them on my side.

"At home, the crowd are obviously very passionate and want to see us go and win games. But I think maybe over the years, Newcastle have been guilty of trying to show off a bit too much; been a bit too gung-ho and have ended up losing games 4-3 or 3-2.

"It's not for me to tell them (the fans) how to watch football. But if we play a boring, terrible game that they all boo at and it ends 0-0, I'd rather have that and get a point than play in a great game to watch where we get beat 3-1 or 3-2.

"Defence is an area where we probably lack a bit at the moment. Everywhere else in the team — wide, midfield, up front — if we have injuries, there are top-class players who can come in and take over.

"But if we can keep our defenders reasonably fit for the season, we can make the top six.

"When I left for Birmingham I definitely thought there was no way I was coming back here. If you leave a club at my age, you generally never go back.

"I had a chat with Graeme Souness, who was manager then. It was man to man, it wasn't an argument, and he just told me I wouldn't be in the starting line-up and that at my age I'd want to play football.

"So I left to go and play football — it wasn't a personal thing. But it worked out that I came back here. And I'm very happy I did."