Fabricio Coloccini insists he's always been committed to Newcastle United.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when the £55,000-a-week centre-back failed to join the £30million exodus of stars sold to balance the club's books after relegation.

Yet Coloccini slammed rumours he was simply left on the shelf, claiming he could have gone to Spain or Italy despite a torrid first season in the Premier League.

He said: "I was annoyed. People were saying the only reason I wasn't going anywhere was because there weren't any offers.

"That wasn't true. The club and myself were getting a lot of offers."

He added: "All I thought about was I should stay and try to help us get back into the Premier League, as the fans had been so good to me."