Keith Curle was delighted with the recruitment of Andre Boucaud on a permanent contract.
The Magpies swooped for the midfielder, who had spent the first half of the season at Meadow Lane, on Thursday afternoon and he will remain with the club until June 2014.
Curle had been impressed by the former Luton Town man’s impact in the black and white stripes and was able to recruit him, after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.
Many have doubted Boucaud throughout his career but the manager has seen enough to suggest that he will continue to be an asset to the club.
He said: “He was a player that got identified early into pre-season and I was asked to have a look at him.
“I saw a lot of things in Andre that I liked and I could understand why other managers had lost faith in him.
“But, we suited the way that Andre plays, his reliability, his consistency and his creativity in midfield was paramount to how we started the season off.
“I think a lot of people have said that Andre’s okay when the pitches are fine in good weather conditions and when the pitches pitches get difficult, Andre is unable to adapt his play.
“I think he can adapt his play, because we’ve got him fitter, more consistent with the football as well and he’s understanding the role of how we want him to play in that midfield area.
“Every manager sees different things in different players but I though Andre was somebody that we could use.”
Boucaud will be available for this weekend’s encounter with Portsmouth (3pm kick-off).
Curle is expecting a difficult test at Fratton Park, despite Pompey’s struggles off the pitch, which have led to a number of key players heading out of the door.
“I went to watch Portsmouth play last week at Walsall and they've still got some good players there and can be a threat,” he continued.
“We don't underestimate anybody and we have a level of respect for whatever team is put out.
“Whether that's all the pros that they've got available to them or a mixture of others, it doesn't matter to us, because our philosophy won't change."
For the full pre-match press conference with the manager, sign in to Magpie Player.