Olivier Bernard has told Newcastle United's French players to step up their integration.

Manager Alan Pardew revealed that he decided to ban any translators from the dressing room over the last two weeks of the season.

Former Toon midfielder Bernard told the Evening Chronicle: "It's vitally important that the French lads at Newcastle United speak and understand English.

"Getting an interpreter in was the wrong thing to do because it made the new French guys lazy.

"They didn't have to learn English and that is so wrong.

"I never understand why that happened.

"Yohan Cabaye speaks English and Gabriel Obertan is fluent. They could have helped.

"They should have been at least trying to speak English 24 hours a day. Helping them with the interpreter was wrong."