Positive tidings have been a rarity for Newcastle United and Joey Barton in recent times, but there was some respite for the club and their controversial midfield player yesterday. Barton will face no disciplinary action over his tussle with Shaun Maloney, the Aston Villa forward, last weekend and is free to continue reassembling his troubled career at St James’ Park.

In an incident that was missed by Lee Mason, the referee, on Saturday, Barton appeared to lash out at Maloney during Newcastle’s miserable 4-1 defeat at Villa Park. However, FA officials have studied television footage of the episode and have determined that the England international has no case to answer.

That development will be welcomed by Barton, who remains on bail over an alleged assault in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of December 27 and whose spell on Tyneside has been undermined further by injury and poor form. The 25-year-old has been receiving intense treatment under the auspices of the Sporting Chance Clinic in Hampshire and is still under a nightly curfew.

Getting the best out of Barton represents a formidable challenge for Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle manager, although the pair have worked together previously at Manchester City. Another task will be persuading Charles N’Zogbia, the talented, introverted Frenchman, that his future lies on Gallowgate; last month, the midfield player informed Keegan of his desire to join his family in London.

N’Zogbia, who signed a five-year contract only in September, has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and Keegan has admitted that the France Under21 player has become unsettled. The manager will do his utmost to reverse that situation – the 21-year-old’s value is enhanced by his ability to play on the left wing, at left back and in central midfield - but his hands may be tied.

“The best way to get people to commit to a club is to convince them that there isn’t a better club out there for them,” Keegan said. “He’s just signed a new contract, but if he’s really homesick and wants to go, there isn’t much we can do. All we will do is try to convince him that, if he leaves, he will miss out on something. Players are scared of jumping off a big ship and on to a smaller one.

“They hate the idea of missing out on something, but if at the end of the day he still says he doesn’t want to be here – and he’s not saying that at this stage – we will have to consider what to do in the summer. At the moment we are pretty open-minded. He said his family are in London and he wants to be closer to them, but it is our job to try to keep our best players.

“I personally don’t think he will leave for a better club if he does go. There might be some who are above us in the league at the moment, but there isn’t one with the potential this club has. He’s definitely a talent, he can go past people and he can excite the crowd, but he’s by no means the finished article. Rest assured, we will do what we can.”

Alan Shearer has clarified the nature of his coaching involvement at Newcastle. The club’s record goal-scorer, who turned down the chance to serve as Keegan’s assistant, will combine his broadcasting and charity interests – he is also committed to pursuing his Uefa Pro Licence – with informal, ad hoc duties at Newcastle’s training ground. “All we’ve said with Kevin is that I’ve got a huge amount of commitments for the foreseeable future and if I have got a spare day to come in training, then I would go in to train with them,” Shearer told The Times.

“There’s no timescale or regularity for it. It’s simply that if I have a spare day in my diary, then I will ring him or Terry [McDermott] and go and train with them. That’s how we’ve left it.”