James Milner has backed Sam Allardyce's decision to keep intact Newcastle's coaching staff.

Nigel Pearson, who is close to Milner, was kept on and the winger told the Evening Chronicle: "Nigel is a good coach. I worked with him last summer for England and enjoyed it.

"It's good to see him stay and that can only be good for the club.

"He knows his stuff."

However, despite lots of changes at the club, Allardyce also kept on coaches Lee Clark and Terry McDermott, which Milner feels will help continuity at the club.

He added: "The perfect thing about the new set-up is that although we have a lot of new faces here there are some familiar ones too.

"We have a few who have stayed and it is important to get that balance. It's not all brand new."