Shelvey: I need to shut up and walk away

LONDON: One game, one defeat, one sending off. That’s Jonjo Shelvey (pic) for you.

And he’s hurting.

The controversial Newcastle midfielder told the Daily Mail: “When stuff happens it’s the ban that kills you.

“The fines you can take and what people say you can live with. But it’s the bans that hurt you inside.”

Former Charlton, Liverpool and Swansea – not to mention England – midfielder Shelvey saw red for stamping on Tottenham’s Dele Alli in Sunday’s 2-0 home loss.

And that despite seeking psychological help for his short fuse after being sent off against Nottingham Forest last season.

Shelvey revealed: “I texted my agent saying I needed to sort this out.

“I said, ‘I need to see someone who can help me, a psychologist’.

“The game was still going on but I knew I had to act. The lad had given me a dig and he only did it because I was running the game.

“But I just kicked out at him and it was childish.”

That red at Forest was rescinded. Treading on England ace Alli’s ankle will not be treated so lightly. A threegame ban is the punishment.

He knows he has a problem and is trying to fix it.

He said: “Look, sometimes I just need to reign in it in. I need to just shut up and stuff, walk away.

“But sometimes I can’t help it. It’s like any walk of life. If you are driving and someone cuts you up you are gonna want to start shouting.

“It’s probably normal but it’s something I need to nip in the bud. So after Forest I started to see a psychologist and it’s been really good so far.

“But it’s an ongoing process. I want to be competitive but I need to smooth some off the edges or I will be the one who suffers.

“Sometimes I can lose my head and it can’t keep happening can it?”