Alan Pardew: “I think of captains I have come across and he’s right up there in terms of leading by example and saying the right things and trying to see the manager’s opinion of the games.
“He has a couple of opinions that he shares with me about the game coming up and I take them on board as well.
“When you look at something, depending on where you’re standing it can look different.
“If you’re standing on the pitch it can look slightly different and if you’re the manager you’ve got to understand that.
“If you get good information back you’ve got to use it – and I do get good information from Kev.
“If you go into any Premier League ground you’ll find strong personalities – you don’t get to be a Premier League player unless you have a lot of personal qualities in terms of character and opinions. Look at Eric Cantona.
“You have to make sure you draw the line right between taking on board opinions and making your own decisions. You listen to the feedback but ultimately, whether I agree with Kevin, Joey or young Ferguson you have make your own decision. But you must listen – it’s foremost in all manager’s jobs in my opinion.”