Given was appearing on Sky Sports News HQ when the topic of recent protests at Charlton Athletic came on to the agenda.
The Irishman saw similar protests during his time at Newcastle, when fans had grown weary of Mike Ashley's ownership of the club.
Given, who played at Newcastle for eight years, now believes fan unrest toward Ashley has calmed - as the owner now plunges more money into the club:
"It shouldn't affect the players. Sometimes maybe it does or the players use it as an excuse. Personally, it never affected me.
"At the time he (Mike Ashley) was not investing in the team and selling probably their best players. The fans were clearly unhappy.
"In recent times Mike Ashley has backed the manager and backed the club. I think £80 million spent this year alone on new players. So the fans are a little bit happier at Newcastle..."