Jamaal Lascelles praises Newcastle's passion after continuing early-season goalscoring form against Stoke
The Magpies captain now has two goals in his last two games
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Your support makes all the difference.Where to start then for Jamaal Lascelles? With the telephone call he received from the Newcastle owner Mike Ashley 10 days ago that ended with the promise of a £20mbonus if the club win the FA Cup this season?
Or how about the game-winning goal at Swansea three days later (after a goal-line clearance when the scores were level)? Perhaps the proposed talks of a new and improved deal that began last week?
And then Saturday, and another match-winning goal, this time against Stoke, and a performance of such leadership that it drew this glowing tribute from one of the club’s most powerful captains.
“He gives everything, he really does,” said Alan Shearer on Match of the Day. “He led by example. He was organising everyone around him, everything you would want from your captain really. He was quick and he was sharp. He was strong and it was a very good performance. The fans are enjoying watching him.”
There is no question of that. The Premier League’s youngest skipper was last to walk off the field of play at St James’ Park and when he did there was acclaim from all four corners of the stadium.
“There’s a real passion about the lads,” he said. “There’s a great intensity. The atmosphere in the ground was electric. The goal was similar to last week. They were ball watching. I don’t think I’ve scored two so early on, but Matt Ritchie’s delivery is just so good. In the Premier League, it’s a little bit different because in the Championships it’s more of a wrestling match in the box.
“We’ve got such a young team, I think it gives us a big advantage in terms of our energy, which really counts when we play against teams a little bit older. Our average age is only about 25.”
Lascelles’ goal came in the 68th minute. Christian Atsu had put Newcastle ahead in the first half before Xherdan Shaqiri equalised just before the hour. There were three spurned opportunities for Joselu to score against his old club. He missed each and said a thank you to his captain at the game’s finish.
“That’s what team-mates do,” added Lascelles. “If it was down the other end and I’d let a goal in and he went down the other end and scored, I’d have gone up to him and said the same. He knows himself he should have scored a couple of goals today, but good team-mates get each other out of the shit.
“He’s done a great job for us today. He held the ball up well, he kept finding himself in dangerous areas and he’s been a real threat for defences in other games as well, so it’s certainly not one of them when I’m going to have a go at him.
“It’s not like it was (when Newcastle were relegated two seasons ago). We’re completely different players with a different mentality and we keep fighting until the whistle goes.”
There was still space for Rob Elliot to excel with three excellent saves. Elliot has been at Newcastle for six seasons now. “We have to quietly go about our business,” he said. That is always easier said than done.
At least the manager will have to follow his lead. Benitez has still to fully recover from the operation to move an infection that was left after a hernia operation two years ago. The Newcastle manager cannot bawl at his team, due to his pain.
“I cannot shout too much at the moment, so I was passing my messages on to Paco,” admitted Benitez. “There were times when I wanted to shout, but I couldn’t. It is just a bit of pain now, every day I am taking less tablets. I am feeling better.”
What Benitez has done is create a team spirit that is rousing the Newcastle support.
“They are showing the fans that they care,” he added. “When I pick players, I need to be sure I am choosing players who really want it and are not always making excuses when they make mistakes. I want players who will make sure they react in the right way.”
None more so than Jamaal Lascelles.
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