Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini has dismissed suggestions that he was prepared to desert the club during their fight against the drop.
The centre-back asked to leave the Tyneside outfit in January in order to return to Argentina for personal reasons, but elected to stay put after holding talks with manager Alan Pardew.
And, although the 31-year-old did briefly travel to his homeland to recover from a back injury, he is ready to help his side maintain their Premier League spot after returning to the side against West Ham last weekend.
“I’m very happy to be back,” he told The Shields Gazette. “I’ve never been injured or out for that long. I like to feel like a footballer, and it’s important to be back.
“I heard people said I wouldn’t play because I wanted to leave, and that I don’t give 100 percent.
“I don’t like to speak to the press too much, because I’m like that. But I try to speak on the pitch. I always give 100 percent.
“I love playing football. I don’t care what happens in my future, I just want to play.
“On Sunday we have a game, and I want to play. If we had another game on Tuesday, I’d want to play in that as well. I always like to be on the pitch.”
Coloccini went on to admit that he has found his lengthy spell on the sidelines difficult to cope with, especially missing the recent derby defeat to Sunderland.
“It’s difficult to watch and not play,” he added. “Sometimes you want to help the team, or try to help others. It’s difficult to do that when you’re watching.
“It was very hard, especially games like Sunderland, where you want to be on the pitch.”
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