Shola Ameobi is wary of his commitment to Nigeria affecting his place at Newcastle United.

The striker is ready to make his debut for Nigeria this week.

Ameobi told the Daily Mail: "You'd be a fool if you didn't want to play at the very highest level and certainly I'm no fool. I want to play at the top as every other player does - that's what drives me and that's why I'm still here wanting to play in the Premier League.

"I think with my age and the travelling, Alan Pardew has said he's worried. You don't get back until later, you don't get much time to recover but it's something that we will look at and make sure I'm not doing a disservice to the club.

"Newcastle United will always be No 1 for me, that is the bread and butter so that is something we'll look at. But he's delighted for me, as you'd expect because he wants a squad full of internationals here. He's happy for me.

"I'm really excited. Nigeria is where I'm from, that's my heritage and I've never forgotten my roots. The majority of my family are from Nigeria and they're really excited about this. My parents are really, really happy but they would have supported me either way. It's a case of better late than never."