The Spaniard sat down with the official matchday programme this week and while he admitted that it's been a somewhat frustrating start to his career on Tyneside, he is hoping to play a bigger role in the run-in.

Signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer, a succession of injuries have limited the 31-year-old to just five league appearances in a black and white shirt, outings which make up little under 350 minutes on the pitch in total.

But he told United: "After two very long injuries, I'm really looking forward to finding myself again, to finding my feelings again, and helping out the team again after those two long injuries that affected me.

"And especially with regards to the fans, because I wish I could have offered more from the beginning. I wish I could have been more involved right from the beginning, but these are things that happen in football, and I will have to try and get more involved as soon as possible now.

"I am professional, and what I really enjoy is being on the pitch, showing the reasons why the club puts so much confidence, so much trust in me. That's where I belong.

"As soon as I have the chance, I'm going to try and take that chance to make it into the team, to help the team, because that's what matters most at the end of the day."

Saturday’s programme also features an exclusive interview with former Newcastle hero and ex-Fulham man Philippe Albert. Copies will be on sale from various vendors outside the ground for just £3.