Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren insists the spirit inside the locker room remains rock solid.
Earlier this season it was claimed there was “poison" in the Magpies dressing room and that Cheick Tiote was one of a number of “bad eggs" at the club.
“Three or four weeks ago Cheicky is supposedly 'poison in the dressing room' – and I laughed when I saw it," McClaren told the Evening Chronicle.
“He's the least poisonous player you can imagine. No-one has ever got a bigger smile on their face – he just wants to play.
“The staff, they don't know him; but I know him. And they came to me the other day and said: 'My God, how hard does he work in training?'
“Honestly you watch him. He is everywhere. He's 29 I think but I had him when he was younger when he was a kid (at Twente). What he was doing then: 'Wow!'
“He's starting to get somewhere back towards that level now."