‘Sorry’ shows the standards players are setting

BRUNO Guimaraes’‘honest’ admission about his under-par performance at Brighton shows how Eddie Howe is driving ‘high standards’ at Newcastle United, according to Magpies great Lee Clark.

United fan favourite Guimaraes took to social media to admit he did not have his ‘best game’ in the goalless draw with the Seagulls.

The Brazil international has proven to be a sensation since sealing his blockbuster switch from Lyon in January. Howe phased Guimaraes into the team slowly, but the 24-year-old’s form means he is now one of the first names on United’s teamsheet.

The midfielder has consistently been one of Newcastle’s standout performers in recent months, but struggled to make a real impact alongside his team-mates at the Amex Stadium last weekend.

Guimaraes thanked fans after the game for their support, but accepted it was ‘not even close’ to being his best performance for the club.

He stopped short of issuing an apology like his team-mate Jonjo Shelvey following Newcastle’s victory in the reverse fixture in March.

However, former Newcastle United midfielder Clark (right) feels it is a sign of the demands players now put upon themselves to succeed under Howe.

Clark told the Sunday Sun: “I like players who are honest and who have got high standards of themselves.

You can lose a game and you don’t have to come out and apologise because you can give your best and things don’t go in your favour. “When players are taking responsibility for their own level of performance, I think as a fan and a coach or a manager you respect that.

“All I would say is you’ve got to be careful, you don’t want to keep apologising because you’ve drawn a game at Brighton. That shows me that people like Guimaraes and [Jonjo] Shelvey since Eddie has come in have got high standards of what they want to do.

“I like that type of thing, you’ve got to take responsibility for your own individual performance. If you look after that, and all of the players do that together then nine times out of 10 you’ll get a winning performance.”

He added: “It’s all positive for me, and it’s good a player can have high demands of themselves, and not settle for what they’re achieving at the moment. They want to keep pushing, and that can only be good for the club really.

“Everyone has to realise the players are not robots, they’re human beings and they will have off-days, he will have a game where their passing might not be as clinical as it usually is, and he might not be on the ball as much as he’d like to be.

“But as long as he’s given everything in terms of his effort and commitment, the fans will accept that.”

When players

are taking responsibility for their own level of performance, you respect that

Lee Clark