LANGUAGE barriers may have been a problem at Newcastle United since the summer, but manager Sam Allardyce claims Nicky Butt has helped to ensure the spirit within the dressing room is rising by the week.

Last weekend's defeat at Reading could have had a negative effect on the mood within the Magpies squad ahead of this afternoon's visit of Portsmouth.

However, there has been no such adverse reaction in training this week and the attitude of Butt has rubbed off on his team-mates.

Given the huge number of foreign players in the Newcastle squad, there has understandably been a drop in the number of leaders mulling around the place.

Butt, though, is not afraid to air his concerns and frustrations towards his colleagues and that is a trait Allardyce has been looking for in his players.

In the Newcastle boss' view, criticism and praise being exchanged between the members of his playing staff is exactly what is required if he is going to succeed on Tyneside.

"If you haven't got people prepared to raise their voices or to have a go in the right way then you ain't got a football club," said Allardyce. "If you ain't got that, you ain't got a team. If they can't dig each other out then you haven't got any spirit, or desire to win.

"You can't just say 'oh carry on making that sort of mistake' - or, if you can, then you've lost your resilience, your team spirit. You've got to build that by taking it on the chin and by dishing it out among each other, taking it, giving it back, accepting it and getting on with it and driving each other on because of it."

Given how Butt is the most experienced member of the Newcastle squad, he does have a responsibility to show leadership, even if Geremi remains the Newcastle captain.

There have been occasions when he has been asked to wear the captain's armband and the former Manchester United midfielder has been identified as a key man in Newcastle's push for a European place this season.

"From Nicky's point of view, he's old school and I love that," said Allardyce, who admitted contract talks have opened over extending Butt's stay in the North-East.

"I love it when players turn around and say what they think. Far too often these days, players are too nice with each other and really don't talk to each other in the right manner, at the right times. But not Nicky. If it's wrong, it's wrong and if it's right, it's right.

"That's really good as far as I'm concerned. I think there are fewer of them about these days and that's probably true of us as well.

"The language barriers and the infiltration of foreign players over the last few years has taken a lot of that away, because the communication can't always be understood through language."

Despite being satisfied with morale levels within the group, Allardyce is intent on improving the team ethic further over the next few months.

He does not feel he is in a position to draw comparisons with the atmosphere which existed in the squad when he first took over in May, but he knows how important a happy environment is for a successful squad.

"I started in a new campaign, so you start building it from day one and I don't know what it was like before, but I changed a lot of players and staff and we're building it," said Allardyce.

"The time you find out about team spirit is not when you're winning every week, because it's easy then, it's when you're not doing the right things, and putting them right quickly."

Portsmouth, unbeaten in six league games, arrive on Tyneside this afternoon likely to field the lone-striker system which became Allardyce's forte during his days in charge of Bolton.

But, on the back of four successive Premier League wins on home soil, he does not feel any inclination to worry about today's opponents. Instead he will ensure Newcastle push on and attack.

"Maybe away from home changing things might be an option, but at home we've been brilliant, so you look at that and pick the best side to beat Portsmouth," he said.

"Portsmouth like to sit back and play on the break, allowing you to have more possession, but they exploit the space this creates.

"We have to be very good tactically to make sure that doesn't happen and break down a very rigid system without leaving too many holes."