Cheik Tiote: "If you come to a new club in a new country it is important there is a good atmosphere at the club.
"As soon as I arrived here the players made me welcome. They helped me settle in and meant I could do a good job on the pitch.
"Newcastle life is good for me. It is not like London - London is too busy, there are too many people.
"Newcastle is not so busy. That makes it easier to focus on your job. For me it is important. I would like to be here for a few years. I can learn here.
"I feel settled here. I enjoy it here. The fans are good and the new manager likes me. The club has looked after me and I do my best for the team and the fans.
"I made sacrifices to be a player. I had to leave my family, my six brothers and three sisters. It was so difficult.
"Now I have a better life and I am happy for that but I had to be focused.
"In Africa the young boys want to go out all the time, they want to do something different.
"But for me the being different was to make it as a professional. To do that I had to leave that life.
"Going back would have been like saying, 'I lose'. I don't do losing. I want to win every challenge, every tackle, anything.
"When I was little my dad told me, 'If you want to have something in your life, you have to work hard'.
"My dad is dead now but I think he would be proud of me."