Alan Pardew has praised the performances of Newcastle United's young players following the victory over Club Brugge on Thursday night.

Gabriel Obertan's strike earned the three points for the Magpies but Pardew reserved special praise for a trio of youngsters in his press conference.

The 51-year-old said: "[The] young group is pushing hard. Bigirimana showed again that he is going to be a player for us and Ferguson and Sammy Ameobi [had] great games.

"[Shane Ferguson's] got one of those left foots you could peel an Orange with. He hit three fantastic crosses tonight and I'm an admirer of him, I like the way he plays the game.

"He's a forward thinking player who wants to constantly attack, and I think he has a big future at the club, as Sammy has."

Newcastle are three points clear at the top of Group D.