Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew says their top four status is down to skipper Fabricio Coloccini.

Coloccini got up from the treatment table to play against Manchester United after a back problem looked likely to rule him out - until he insisted on playing.

Pardew told the Evening Chronicle: "It was Colo's bravery that got him out there, and we wouldn't have got the results without him - 100%."

And Pardew has backed Coloccini to play through the pain barrier again if necessary against Andre Villas-Boas' under-fire Londoners, while praising the Newcastle medical team.

"How he played at Man United I don't know," he added. "He could hardly walk off the training field on Friday.

"His back seized up and the medical team did a fabulous job on him."