Jamaal says players can lift gloom at Newcastle
THE storm clouds may be gathering on Tyneside but captain Jamaal Lascelles believes Newcastle have the players to turn things around.
Monday’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, who have managed to arrest their own slump, was a fifth in seven league outings for Steve Bruce’s Magpies.
The beleaguered boss made eight changes and switched formation for the game at the Emirates but the visitors were undone in the second half as a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace sandwiched a Bukayo Saka strike.
Another loss saw supporters group ‘Toon For Change’ begin to actively campaign for Bruce to be sacked.
But Lascelles, who played 90 minutes for the first time since recovering from coronavirus, believes the current squad can arrest the slump, admitting they are ‘annoyed’ with recent displays.
‘I’ve been in a lot of tough situations over the years and it is just about how you deal with them,’ said the skipper, who joined the Magpies in 2014.
‘Every club goes through a spell. Arsenal, I think, went ten without a win but have turned it around and we have the players to do that.
‘It is just important that we stick together, the manager, the staff and the players and keep trying to do the right things and hopefully it gets better. Of course, it is always tough.
‘We are just annoyed at ourselves, disappointed with the situation we are in. We thought we would put in a better performance than that.
‘First half was alright, second half was terrible, so we really need to look at ourselves.’
For Arsenal, a fourth win in five league outings moved them into the top half of the table and continued to ease the pressure following their own poor start to the campaign.
Aubameyang’s double saw him move on to five league goals for the season after his own personal struggles coincided with the team’s poor run.
The Arsenal skipper missed a couple of decent chances before breaking the deadlock and Granit Xhaka praised the 31-year-old striker for continuing to work hard and address his unusual patchy spell in front of goal.
‘Everyone knows how important he is for us – not only on the pitch, but off the pitch as well,’ Xhaka said.
‘Of course, every player has these moments where it is not going well for them. But he has kept going. Today he helped a lot and I’m so happy for him.’