Newcastle boss Chris Hughton praised the composure shown by Barton who appeared to be singled out by Wolves skipper Karl Henry for some robust tackles.

He said: "Did Barton do well to keep his cool? Yes. It was a competitive game, which is one you expect when you come here. These are a good honest team and it was a real tough game for us.

"Amongst all that, you've got to keep calm and composed but I think when you are a wholehearted midfield player yourself, you accept that it goes both ways. Sometimes it comes out in your favour and sometimes it doesn't."

Hughton praised the performance of striker Andy Carroll who defied an ankle injury to score his fourth goal in two matches. The player will join up with the England Under-21 squad for next Friday's match with Portugal and be assessed by the medical staff.

Hughton said: "He probably didn't reach the heights of the last couple of weeks regarding his performance. But what he did show was the quality he has got when given a chance and this is a tough lad.

"This is a lad who had an ankle problem during the week and hasn't trained during the last few days and puts himself up to play. He will certainly go and they will assess him there."

Hughton refused to put forward Carroll for a senior England call despite Bobby Zamora being all but ruled out of the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers with Bulgaria and Switzerland.

He said: "If Andy got the call tomorrow, I am quite sure he would be available. Should he be picked? That is the decision for the manager. All I can say is how delighted I am with what he has given us in the three games he has played."

After the match Mick McCarthy laughed off complaints from Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton that he had been singled out for rough treatment from Wolves players. draw at Molineux.

McCarthy said: "I think he was complaining about one or two of the tackles. I said to him 'you are hardly a shrinking violet yourself Joey so come on mate'. He just said about my team and tackling and I thought there is the kettle calling the pot black if ever I heard it.

"We were laughing about it. It was nothing at all in terms of harsh words. I was laughing at the fact he even said it."