Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey says the Toon are seeing the best of him.

Shelvey believes he has matured as a player during his spell on Tyneside and is past the days of showing petulance which once saw him launch a verbal tirade at Sir Alex Ferguson after being sent off for Liverpool in a clash against Manchester United.

"I think I'm a lot more laid-back," says Shelvey. "People I played with at Swansea will tell you that I wasn't laid-back when I was there. I just wanted to win so much on the training pitch that I'd end up falling out with people.

"I'd say nasty comments and stuff like that, whereas now I'm just enjoying football. I'm going out there and I'm playing with a smile on my face, whereas back in the day I would probably have been a bit of div to referees and picked up stupid little bookings."