Dyer, who hopes to line up against his former club for West Ham on Saturday, knows all about life under the spotlight on Tyneside after an eventful eight years at the club.

The 31-year-old midfielder told the Journal: “We had a young exciting team, a fantastic team when you think about it. But there was a lot going on off the pitch as well.

“They called us the Brat Pack, and I suppose we were at the time. There was myself, Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Jenas, Titus Bramble, Carl Cort – we were young lads who had a lot of money, single, living away from home.

“We were enjoying life off the pitch and we got up to all sorts. But that is the problem you have in a city like Newcastle.

“We were doing well on the pitch and we were intent on enjoying ourselves off it, but we got into too many scrapes. We attracted the wrong sort of attention and there are things I did which I just can’t believe when I look back.

“That is what happens when you turn young men into millionaires in a city where they receive so much adulation just for being footballers. There are so many dangers when that happens, so many pitfalls – I fell into a lot of them.

“I look at Andy Carroll and you can see the same problems. I hope he gets himself sorted out because he could become an excellent player.”