MAGS TO KEEP PUSHING
LASCELLES INSISTS NEWCASTLE WILL NOT EASE UP FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON
Jamaal Lascelles says there’ll be no let-up at Newcastle United between now and the end of the season.
Rafa Benitez’s side were beaten 1-0 by Everton at Goodison Park on Tuesday night. The result brought an end to a run of four successive victories.
Newcastle, now safe from the threat of relegation, are 10th in the table ahead of Saturday’s home game against West Brom.
Lascelles, however, insists that he and his team-mates will push on in the club’s four remaining fixtures.
“We’re safe, but all the boys just want us to finish as high as we can,” said United’s captain. “I thought we put in the same effort and showed the same passion we’ve been doing in games recently. It was just one of them days.
“They didn’t have many chances and the chance they had went in. That was the way it panned out, and sometimes you’ve just got to give credit to the opposition because they’re a good side.”
A second-half strike from Theo Walcott was the difference between the two sides in a scrappy game at Goodison Park.
“They started the game really well and made it hard for us,” said defender Lascelles. “We struggled to get out of our own half at times.
“But in terms of chances created, I thought we probably had the better chances and on another day they might have gone in. But it’s not a dent to our confidence.
“I’m always going to be disappointed in the defeat – I don’t like the fact they beat us twice this season – but, at the same time, I’m over the moon with how we’ve been this year.”
Benitez handed on-loan striker Islam Slimani his first start against Everton.
“He’s a good player,” said Lascelles. “He worked hard for us, and they made it hard for us to play and to give him good service.
“We didn’t really get the chance to get the ball down and play or get up the pitch.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to hold your hands up and say fair play to Everton, because we gave our all.”
Lascelles still believes that United can catch Everton. Newcastle are three points behind ninth-placed Leicester City.
“The game could have gone either way, so the same people who were saying we were just a Championship team will see we’re now looking up to push on and catch the likes of Everton and Leicester, so I’m pleased we can say we’re not a Championship team,” said Lascelles.