Jonas Gutiérrez: "Coloccini is our captain, our leader and all the players respect him.
"Colo and I have everything in common and we do everything together.
"The only problem is he doesn't allow me to beat him at cards – he has to win – but I have better hair than him; different, darker and much straighter but better, I think.
"Last year we found a really good type of football but now we are not finding the same.
"The injuries to people like Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa make it hard; when the team keeps changing it's difficult to keep standards high.
"We want to play on the floor, to pass and move, pass and move. I want our fans to say, 'Oh that's really good'.
"I know I really enjoy watching good footballing teams like Swansea and West Brom and Arsenal.
"Some other South Americans have struggled on Tyneside in recent years.
"Daniel Cordone, Christian Bassedas, Clarence Acuña, Diego Gavilán and Fumaça.
"Sometimes it's luck.
"Look at Marcos Angeleri. He was at Sunderland until last summer but couldn't find a place in the team.
"I know Marcos very well, I've played with him for Argentina and I was sure he had the quality to do well in England. I was very surprised it didn't work out but you've got to be at the right club at the right time."