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Barton will spend the New Year behind bars after being charged with assault following an incident in Liverpool last week, leaving Allardyce unable to pick him over the busy festive period.

The indiscretion has left Allardyce with a further headache he can ill afford at the moment, given Newcastle's current form, and the under-fire boss could not hide his disappointment with the player he bought in the summer for £5.8 million.

Allardyce told the Daily Mirror: "Yes, I feel let down by him, of course I do. There's no question about that but I've got to deal with that quietly and privately when the opportunity arises.

"I have spoken to him but I'm not going to tell you what was said. The Joey Barton situation is something we had to put behind us because we've got so many games in such a short period of time," he added.

"We'll deal with that later on and find out what the outcome is when I get the opportunity with the chairman.

"It's disappointing, very, very disappointing but I can't really comment any further than that."