Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor is loving playing for manager Alan Pardew.

Taylor has never squeezed more enjoyment out of his football.

"The manager has shown faith in me since the day he came in. He sorted me out with a contract within a few days of arriving and that was a big confidence boost," Taylor told the Sunday Sun.

"But to be fair he's always on my tail, he's at me all the time. It's hard to make him smile! Sometimes when we get a clean sheet he might be happy for a little bit but he's hard to please.

"He's a very hard guy. He's got high standards and he wants perfection in games and in training.

"That's difficult of course, but we try our hardest to do just that. As a back four we're working hard and he's got us playing together.

"This is the happiest I've felt. The games are coming thick and fast and my confidence is growing and the team around me are helping out."