Barton played against his former club in a reserve match on Tuesday

The 25-year-old left City for Newcastle in a �5.8million deal in the summer.

But Barton told BBC Radio 5live: "I hope they appreciate the job I did at Manchester City last season.

"Were it not for myself, Micah Richards and Richard Dunne they wouldn't have had Thaksin Shinawatra, the Premier League and Sven-Goran Eriksson."

Interview: Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton

Barton has yet to make his competitive debut for the Magpies after breaking a metatarsal in a pre-season friendly, but played 45 minutes as Newcastle reserves drew 2-2 with his former club in Manchester on Tuesday.

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He added: "I think they could easily have gone down last season but for a couple of results."

"It is important they don't get too carried away with a couple of results. Hopefully we'll get the kind of investment they got at Manchester City and get a similar result."

Barton's new side crashed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of his former employers on Saturday but the England international insists he is happy with his decision to move to what he regards as a bigger club.

He said: "I think Newcastle can be as big as they want to be. No disrespect to City but in Manchester, Manchester United will always be top dog. As much as they want to believe it, it is not going to be.