Joey Barton, the Newcastle United midfield player, faces more disciplinary trouble as the FA prepares to investigate an incident during his team’s 4-1 defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday in which he appeared to hit out at Shaun Maloney. Lee Mason, the referee, missed the altercation in the first half as Newcastle, without a win in Kevin Keegan’s five matches in charge, fell apart after leading through Michael Owen’s second goal in successive matches.

“We will wait for the referee’s report before making any further comment,” an FA spokesman said. The FA has until tomorrow evening to decide whether to charge the player.

Barton, 25, is due back at Liverpool Magistrates Court on March 12 to face charges of assault and affray after an incident in Liverpool on December 27. The England player spent time in prison over the new year before being released on bail. He joined Newcastle from Manchester City last summer and has been in the team for the past three matches, but this latest incident only adds to the gloom hanging over the club.

Keegan, who wants to offer Michael Owen a new contract this summer, was unable to persuade Nigel Pearson, the assistant manager inherited from Sam Allardyce, not to leave the club and has also been told that Alan Shearer is unable to take on any coaching responsibilities this season. It leaves Keegan to reestablish his leadership qualities over the next fortnight while preparing for a difficult sequence of matches against Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool.

The manager called on his players to banish any sense of self-pity. “One of those things I can help us with is the spirit,” he said. “It is difficult sometimes when the players have had a few blows, they can start to feel sorry for themselves.”

Without a win in nine Barclays Premier League matches, Newcastle are only six points above the relegation zone and Damien Duff, for one, realises that they are not too good to go down. “It’s probably a good thing we haven’t got a game as it gives us two weeks to work on the training ground,” the winger said. “When I was at Blackburn it was said that they were too good to go down and I went down with them, so we are in a fight. Relegation hasn’t been mentioned . . . but anyone who has got half a brain can see we need to pick up points.”

Owen, whose contract expires next year, impressed on Saturday after being left out of Fabio Capello’s first England team. “It goes without saying that I want him to stay,” Keegan said. “We have to sit down with Michael at some stage. How long is left on his contract will make it an issue.”