We miss a Nolan in our dressing room

Nolan was an influential figure on and off the pitch during his time at St James’s Park.

The midfielder helped the Magpiess return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, and wore the captain’s armband back in the top flight.

Nolan, likely to captain West Ham United in tomorrow’s meeting between the two sides at Upton Park, was a vocal player on and off the field for Newcastle.

And United manager Alan Pardew has admitted that the dressing room has had a “different mood” since he left in the summer of 2011.

“We’ve got a different sort of mood in the changing room to the way Kevin was,” said Pardew.

“Kevin was brilliant here.

“We owe him a lot – all the players here – with the professionalism he brought and the winning mentality.

“But the players are generally a lot quieter than Kevin.

“We want players to be more vocal. I would like more Kevin Nolans in my group.

“He’s a very special sort of person in the changing room and he brings that to whichever club he does to, that winning mentality, and that’s why he’s had such a fantastic career.”

Meanwhile, Pardew has revealed that Ryan Taylor could be back on the training field in less than a month.

Taylor – who had spent more than two years on the sidelines after twice rupturing his cruciate ligament – suffered an injury setback against QPR last weekend.

And there were fears that the 30-year-old had suffered a serious injury, but Pardew is confident that Taylor will only be out for a matter of weeks.

“We think he will be back training in three to four weeks, which is great news for Ryan and good news for us,” said Pardew.

“The fans were very upset, as we were, with his withdrawal last week, but it’s not as bad as we first feared.”