Mood swing has Mo looking up
MOHAMED Diame says Newcastle have shaken off their relegation hangover and are now focused on promotion.
Rafa Benitez’s men stormed to their fourth win in 11 days as they swept aside 10-man promotion rivals Brighton with a display of power, pace and passion.
Back-to-back defeats to open the campaign are now a fading memory for midfielder Diame and his team-mates as the title favourites climbed to fourth in their bid to bounce straight back into the Premier League.
And after sealing a £3million deal for Ipswich striker Daryl Murphy, Benitez has added to the growing feel-good factor by taking his spending to almost £60m, with Palermo defender Achraf Lazaar becoming his 11th summer signing ahead of Wednesday’s deadline. He has also allowed midfielder Cheick Tiote to complete a £1.3m move to Galatasaray.
“I’m absolutely delighted to get it over the line and really looking forward to it,” said the Republic of Ireland’s Murphy after signing a two-year deal.
“When I knew the club was interested, it was a no-brainer for me. With the squad the club have now, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.” Murphy, who has 23 caps for Ireland, second-half free-kick. Diame feels Newcastle are beginning to show their true form due to a change of mood in the Toon camp.
“When the season started, maybe we were still thinking about last season and the mood was about the games we lost back then,” he said.
“But we are feeling better now. It was important to finish the month strongly going into the international break and we need to build on this run.
“We will soon know who is leaving in the transfer window, and then the squad will be focused on the same target.”
Lascelles echoed his sentiments, saying: “We have got good momentum but more importantly, the team is really starting to gel together.
“It was a good performance but we all know we’ve got a lot more to offer. “OK, we won, but we’re not going to take our foot off the gas now. We’re going to keep working hard to make sure we are on top of our game every week
and pushing on as a team. It’s starting to come together nicely and it’s only going to get better.”
Brighton were left to lick their wounds after suffering a first league defeat in more than six months.
Anthony Knockaert hit the bar and Beram Kayal saw a shot saved brilliantly by Matz Sels, whose theatrics helped earn striker Sam Baldock a second yellow card that resulted in his dismissal.
After making his debut following his move from Blackburn, Brighton defender Shane Duffy said: “It was a missed opportunity. It would have been a different game had we taken one of our chances and I’m confident we’ll be up there at the end of the season if we keep playing like this.”
Manager Chris Hughton admits there is plenty for the Seagulls to work on in the next fortnight after his return to St James’ Park.
The former Toon boss said: “I’ve been pleased with some aspects of our play but we’ve taken a dip, certainly in the last two matches.”
NEWCASTLE (4-4-1-1): Booked: Goals: