PRIOR to this summer, most Newcastle supporters would have associated the name of Habib Beye with two of the most disappointing days in their club's history.

Back in 2004, Beye played in the Marseille side that claimed a goalless draw at St James' Park in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, before cruising to a two-goal win in the Stade Velodrome a fortnight later.

The defender helped to successfully shackle Alan Shearer on both occasions but, after completing a £2m move to Newcastle this summer, he suddenly finds himself having to win over the fans he disappointed three years ago.

"I remember both of those games really well," said Beye, who made his Magpies debut as a second-half substitute in Monday's 1-0 defeat at Derby. "We won at Marseille but we drew here.

"I remember Newcastle were a very good team back then. We were playing them in the UEFA Cup semi-final, so that just shows how good they were.

"Of course I was very happy because we won, but now I am at Newcastle so things are different.

"At the moment, I think a lot of Newcastle fans have bad memories of me because I helped knock them out of the UEFA Cup when they thought they might make the final.

"Now, I want to create some happy memories so they will think of me differently."

Beye's £2m switch to St James' completed a summer-long courtship that had seen Allardyce's attempts to sign the Senegal international repeatedly rebuffed.

The defender had initially been keen to remain in France to guarantee himself Champions League football, but a conversation with close friend Didier Drogba persuaded him to join the Magpies.

"I am still a good friend of Didier and I speak with him regularly," said Beye.

"He was very happy to see me join Newcastle and I'm already looking forward to playing against him.

"I told Didier that I was thinking about moving to England and he said, 'The Premier League will be very good for you'. I also told (Diomansy) Kamara that I was thinking of joining Newcastle and he said, 'It is a very big team'. All my friends were very complimentary."

Having been born and raised in Paris, Beye has joined a growing French connection at St James' Park that already includes Charles N'Zogbia and Claudio Cacapa.

The pair have helped him settle in, although Beye admits he will feel more at home when he has completed the course of English language tuition he is receiving from his wife.

"I speak English very badly at the moment, but I am learning it from my wife because she speaks the language very well," he said. "It is important I improve my English because, when you are on the pitch, you have to understand terms like 'man over' or 'man on'.

"My wife is helping me because even though I speak a bit of English, I know that it is hard for other people to understand me."