Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has insisted that he will stick with midfielder Moussa Sissoko through "thick and thin".

Sissoko has struggled to reproduce the form that he displayed during his opening weeks at St James' Park, but Pardew has revealed that he has no intention of dropping the France international from his starting lineup.

The 52-year-old told the Northern Echo: "I still think that he can be the player that we saw against Chelsea last season, but I understand why people are asking questions.

"Moussa has all the ingredients of a modern midfielder, he's powerful, he's strong and he's got that attacking ability.

"The only thing that he's getting wrong at the minute is getting used to the Premier League and getting used to different environments when teams drop off or put us under pressure. Through thick and thin I'll stick by him because I know that it's in there."

The former Toulouse player has featured in all nine of Newcastle's Premier League fixtures this season.