Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce was delighted with the reception fans gave Joey Barton as he made his debut in Monday's victory over Tottenham.

Barton arrived at Newcastle by his own admission carrying unwanted baggage, and recently found himself, perhaps unfairly, cast as the villain in a club v country row.

However, as he emerged from the dug-out on Monday night to replace the tiring Emre, he was left in little doubt as to where he stands in the affections of the Toon Army despite never having kicked a ball in anger in a black and white shirt.

Allardyce said: "That reception is why he came here.

"It's a tremendous lift for any player to walk out on the pitch and get a massive cheer which makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

"It gets your adrenaline flowing and gets you into the game.

"We were just losing our heads a little bit when he came on, and Emre was tiring a little bit. It was a good change-over tactically.

"It was good to see him back, and I hope he goes a long time before anything like that happens to him again."