Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has praised striker Demba Ba for the way he reacted to being left on the bench against Everton on Monday.

Ba was reportedly unhappy with being left out, leading to his agent hinting at the possibility of an exit.

Ba returned to the starting lineup to score the only goal of the match against Norwich City, and Pardew was happy with his response, although he insisted that the incident had been blown out of proportion.

"There has just been so much nonsense written about it. His agent sent me an e-mail saying he was misquoted, and I actually believe him," said Pardew.

"I am not usually one to believe agents that much, but I do believe him on this occasion, and I also think Demba's anger has been generated in the right way - to improve for Newcastle United. There is no way that Demba can play every game this season. He is going to miss some other games - so will Shola [Ameobi] and so will Papiss [Cisse].

"The best thing we can do is try to play the best players we have and get a win, and Demba led from start to finish today - not just his goal - in the dressing room, everything about him was top drawer."

Newcastle's win lifted them to 10th in the Premier League table.