Dubravka enjoying the praise but is determined to keep improving

MARTIN Dubravka has revealed how he tries to switch off from the ‘pressure’ of being Newcastle United’s goalkeeper.

Despite Newcastle’s eight-match winless start to the season, Dubravka has continued to excel. The 29-year-old has made a string of excellent saves this season and has firmly established himself as the club’s number-one goalkeeper.

Dubravka has earned high praise from pundits and Newcastle fans alike while retaining his determination to keep improving.

The former Sparta Prague man says switching off from the pressures of football has been key in his positive start to life in English football. He said: “I’m trying to prove that I deserve my place in goal. I see what I could do better, but I cannot live 24 hours in football. I try to have a private life and do the things that I enjoy, like getting away in nature, away from people, because there’s a lot of pressure in Newcastle but we have castles, the sea, it’s nice.”

While Saturday’s late 3-2 defeat at Manchester United was disappointing, Dubravka was glad to see a response from his teammates after a home loss to Leicester a week earlier. “We could have won, but we did not manage it in key moments,” he added. “I said we should sit as a team and find the right way (after the Leicester defeat). The English media mistakenly took over, it was presented slowly so that I was going to revolt. It was an ordinary meeting that is commonplace in our situation.”