Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has insisted that he does not want to "heap too much pressure" on midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa.
The onus has been placed on Ben Arfa to return to form after the departure of Yohan Cabaye, and while Pardew believes that the best is yet to come from the French international, he does not want to place too much responsibility on the playmaker.
The 52-year-old told the Northern Echo: "Hatem has amazing technical ability. He still needs to put together the whole package, but if you were to say that his time is upon him now, you wouldn't be far wrong.
"Sometimes, I think people look at him and assume he's super confident because of the way that he plays. They think he has cast-iron confidence about what he can do, but I don't think he actually is like that."
"I think that he does worry about the game and his responsibilities. That has to be taken into account, and I don't want to heap too much pressure on him."
The 26-year-old has scored three times in 22 appearances for the Magpies this campaign.
Darren Plant
