Glenn Roeder has paid tribute to Nicky Butt for his performance
at centre-back in Newcastle's 3-0 defeat to Everton.
The midfielder showed his versatility as he moved into the back
four after Peter Ramage was substituted due to injury in the first
half.
Due to a lack of fit defenders Butt may be called upon to play at
centre-back against former club Manchester United on New Year's
Day, but Roeder is confident he will turn in another good
display.
"I don't think Sir Alex needs any help with what I'm going to do,
but all I'll say is that I thought Nicky Butt showed against
Everton why he has so many things as a footballer," praised
Roeder.
"I thought some of the headers and tackles that he got in would rub
off on our young central defender, Steven Taylor.
"It was a perfect demonstration of how to play centre-back."
Roeder, who believes Butt has been one of The Magpies' most
consistent players this season, was delighted with his reaction
when asked to fill in for Ramage
"Whatever you ask him to do, he does it without complaint and he
does it well," he explained.
"I just said 'Nicky, I want you to play centre-back', and he said
'okay, boss'. I wouldn't have expected anything else from Nicky
Butt.
"He's a top, top man and people didn't think he had a future at
Newcastle, but he's turned out to be a very important and
influential player for us this year.
"I'd like to think a lot of that is because he's got a lot of
confidence in me. He knows I believe in him."