James Perch has praised boss Alan Pardew and believes people may have been surprised by the strength of the Newcastle squad.

James Perch feels that he owes Pardew a lot. He said to The Journal: "The gaffer has put a lot of faith in me and I owe him a lot. When he first came, I was out of the picture in the first team. But he stuck with me and I stuck at it. I owe him so much. I am just so glad to have so many games under my belt."

The defender also feels the squad are able to cope with their packed schedule, including playing in the Europa League. Manager Alan Pardew has needed to bring in younger players, such as Shane Ferguson and Sammy Ameobi because of the number of fixtures.

He said: "There is strength in depth here. With playing in Europe, the manager has to make a few chances and, although we believed it on the training ground, perhaps we have surprised a few people by how much strength we have got in and around the first team. We have players who can play against any team. Shane and Sammy have both come in and played perfectly. As a squad we have done well, and there are a few young ones who are pushing their claim. Fergie has done really well and Sammy has been brilliant lately. It is a credit to those lads, because playing in the reserves is very different to the first team and they have settled very quickly.”

Perch signed for Newcastle from Nottingham Forest in 2010.

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