Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew says the captaincy has made Cheick Tiote a better player.
Tiote has rediscovered his best form in recent weeks.
Pardew said: "He is an important player to us, and the captaincy when Colo [Fabricio Coloccini] was out changed him a little bit.
"He knows now that in my mind, he is our vice-captain and he has to play the role that that involves.
"It's a big club, so he has a lot of responsibility and he's dealing with it very well.
"In fact, it's spurred him on."
