Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew says they've learned to cope without the influence of Cheick Tiote.

While Pardew will be delighted to have the Ivory Coast international back, he is equally pleased that his side has shown it can cope without one of its key players.

He said: "We have won without Cheick for the last two weekends, and we won without him when he was away at the African Nations Cup.

"Actually, since he has come back, we haven't had great results with Cheick.

"I am not saying that as a negative because he is a massive player for us, but we can cope without him."