MOHAMED DIAME thinks he has finally woken up after a frustrating start to life at Newcastle United ahead of his return to Hull City tonight after leaving in the summer.

Diame was a driving force in helping the Tigers to promotion to the Premier League last season but decided to drop back down to the Championship when the Magpies came calling.

The Senegalese international looks set to be back in the Newcastle line-up at the KCOM Stadium, when Newcastle will look to seal a place in the EFL Cup semi-final at his former club’s expense.

He hopes a recent rest will have provided him with the perfect tonic to give his Newcastle career a kickstart because he feels he has not done himself justice since his arrival – even if Rafael Benitez has been satisfied with his work-rate.

“I am not pleased with my performances,” said Diame. “I am disappointed with my start. I know last season was very long and very tough and was my first in the Championship, so maybe I needed to refresh myself.

“I need to wake up because I have been sleeping since I got here. I have had one very good game, but I know it is not my best football I am playing at the moment.”

Diame returned to Senegal earlier this month for a break and he was left out of Saturday’s defeat to Blackburn, six days after he was used as a second half substitute at Leeds United.

He said: “I used the international week to refresh and see my family back home in Africa. I feel great now and am convinced what I can give to Newcastle. To be honest, I have not played the football I have wanted to play since I have been here.

“The manager will always say he wants more from me, even if I am playing well. He is pushing me and telling me he wants more. All the good things will come if I keep working.

“I want to prove that I am awake now. Everyone who knows me, realises my game is about pushing and using my power. I felt I was always running slowly. I did not recognise myself. Now, I say I am OK. I just needed to work a bit harder. The last game I felt at my best was the Championship play off-final.”

The 29-year-old scored the winning goal at Wembley in May against Sheffield Wednesday that got Hull back in the Premier League. That effectively capped two years on Humberside because he joined Newcastle a couple of months later for £4.5m.

He said: “I was looking forward to getting back to the Premier League. When you are down in the Championship the only target you have is to get back into the Premier League. The pre-season was not great at Hull. The manager left. There was only a small squad. But I thought I would still be there.

“I think they understand my decision to leave. When you see the size of the squad in pre-season and the manager leaving, it is not like I left Hull for a bad club. Newcastle called me, Rafa called me and it was an easy decision to make.”

When Newcastle walk out on to the pitch at the KCOM Stadium tonight there is expected to be around half of the seats left empty and that will be frustrating from a player’s points of view for a quarter-final.

Newcastle have sold their 2,474 allocation and wanted more, while Hull’s fans are frustrated with how the club is being ran so many have not taken advantage of reduced ticket prices.

Diame said: “It is a shame. After all that we did last season. That was the moment for the club to get bigger. And unfortunately, they did not do it. “