Newcastle's special guest sees 'completely transformed' St James' amid owners' stadium decision

Nikos Dabizas may have been wearing a trench coat, but there was no chance of the cult hero slipping into St James' Park undetected.

The former Newcastle United defender was back on Tyneside a couple of months ago to pay a visit to the academy to catch up with friend and former team-mate Steve Harper before watching the Magpies' first team take on Liverpool. Let's just say that it took Dabizas a while to make his way into the stadium to take his seat alongside club legend Bob Moncur after supporters gave him quite a welcome.

"This is what makes the Geordie fans special and unique because it's been almost 19 years since I left the club and I feel that I've never left," Dabizas told ChronicleLive. "I still feel like I'm playing for the club.

"The amount of people that are stopping me and asking for an autograph or a photograph or shaking my hand in the street is amazing. That period of time is even bigger now for me because, back then, when I was a player for the club, I always gave them something to cheer because they saw me playing. They had a reason to show their joy as I was an active member of the team.

"Now, I've left and I have nothing to give them - only memories - but the memories are still there. The way they approach me is so unique, so authentic, because after all these years, people don't forget."

That warm reception won't necessarily have come as a surprise to Dabizas, who still refers to the North East as his 'second home', but the atmosphere that afternoon was a world away from what the 48-year-old experienced on his previous visits to St James' in the Ashley era.

Dabizas already had half an idea of what to expect, after taking note of the change of mood since the takeover while working as a pundit and