Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew admits Hatem Ben Arfa is hard work.

Ben Arfa, 24 - a £5million buy from Marseille in 2010 - scored a stunning goal on a rare start to help sink Blackburn in the FA Cup last week.

Pardew, without Demba Ba and Cheick Tiote who are on African Nations duty, said: "The boy we know has talent. You only have to see him with the ball.

"But Hatem has to understand this club and I'm going to require more energy from him. In our team, with the team-mates he's got, he's going to need to put in more work-rate and more effort."