Enrique - I can improve Defender says there is more to come ahead of his 50th appearance

Jose Enrique says Newcastle fans have not yet seen the best of him as he prepares to make his 50th appearance for the club.

The Spanish defender will notch up this notable milestone in Sunday's game at Bolton.

But Enrique - who was nicknamed The Bull after putting in strong performances as a Villarreal player - admits he has not yet played at his best since his switch to Tyneside in the summer of 2007.

The 23-year-old says there is still more to come, telling the Newcastle Chronicle: "I feel I am playing well at the moment but I feel I can do better. In Spain I played much better.

Different

"It's different because when I arrived here Newcastle weren't challenging at the top and Villarreal were a successful team challenging for the Champions League. When you are scrapping down at the bottom, the games are of a much different nature.

"You are fighting at the bottom."

While he is pleased to reach his personal milestone, he would gladly swap this for three points against Bolton to help the Magpies fly even further from the relegation zone.

"It's good for me to reach this tally of 50 games," he said. "In two years I feel I should have played more and want to play much more in the future, but 50 is a good number.

Happy

"I'm happy to reach it but I would be even happier to get the three points."

He added: "I'm happy to play. But footballers are only happy when the team is doing well.

"We're confident of beating Bolton though. That's for sure. Bolton are only three points ahead of us and we need to beat them."