Newcastle United's former assistant coach Steve Stone believes the departure of star players such as Yohan Cabaye and Demba Ba deeply weekend the side over the last couple of years.

Stone, who was John Carver's assistant at Newcastle, endured a tough second half of last season and was relieved of his duties along with Carver, after five years with the club.

"When you're selling the likes of Demba Ba and Cabaye and not replacing them, the writing was on the wall," Stone told Sky Sports.

"We used to look at the board we had in the office, and we used to look at the players, and we actually went 'this squad is not good enough."