Eddie Howe intervenes and grabs mic in press conference amid captaincy debate
Jamaal Lascelles has insisted he’ll never give up on his Newcastle career and will keep the club captaincy this season.
The long-serving defender was yesterday confirmed as skipper by boss Eddie Howe, despite England right-back Kieran Trippier taking the arm band on the pitch. At the end of Newcastle's media conference out in the United States, Howe interrupted his press officer and grabbed the microphone to make a point of heaping praise on Lascelles, who'll soon enter his ninth season as a Magpie after signing in 2014.
The 29-year-old made just 11 appearances last season as Fabian Schar and Sven Botman dominated the centre-back pairings. Lascelles has been linked with a transfer to his former club Nottingham Forest, but says he won’t give up on being part of Newcastle’s Saudi rebuild in the Champions League.
He said: “Of course I want to stay. Being the captain is such a huge honour and I’m not a selfish person. I want the team to do well and if I miss a few games, I’ll take it on the chin. I’ll always give my all, whatever position I am in. I always have done and will give my all every single day.”
Asked if he’d hand the captaincy to Trippier, Lascelles replied: “We've not had that conversation. Me and Tripps are really good friends but it’s not just us, we have a leadership group with Dan Burn, Matt Ritchie and Callum Wilson as well.
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“Since that formed it’s taken a huge weight off my shoulders. We can share the load between five of us. It’s been a huge help. I’ve been at Newcastle for so long and have been through some difficult times so to see the club where it is now, and be part of it, is so exciting.”
Coach Howe values his leadership and said after taking the microphone: “He’s been an unbelievable captain for us. Captaincy doesn’t just exist on the pitch, it has to exist off the pitch.
“The two things are so intrinsically linked so a lot of our success last year wasn’t just down to the team, it came down to a group of players giving everything on and off the pitch.
Have your say! Should Eddie Howe have chosen a new captain? Give us your stance in the comments section.
Jamaal Lascelles will remain the club captain of Newcastle (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)“There was a group off the pitch that were absolutely magnificent, and Jamaal was one of them. He will want to play but it’s how you react that is the key. We move forward together.”
Two years ago Newcastle did pre-season in York, but are based in Atlanta this week, with a game against Aston Villa in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Lascelles was at the club during difficult times in the last decade and explained: “The biggest difference for me is the manager.
“The minute he walked in the door, everything changed. We all bought into it. And then having the new owners with huge ambition, that feeds onto the players; it's fantastic.
“Every single day you want to go in and spend time there. It’s not just that we were winning games last year - there are a lot of things to do to spend time with each other and obviously the facilities are a lot better. it's just a much better place to be.”
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