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New Boy Saivet's Debut Delight
Written by Newcastle Utd
Henri Saivet experienced the 'best atmosphere of my career' as he made his Newcastle United debut
By Dominic Scurr
Henri Saivet experienced the 'best atmosphere of my career' as he made his Newcastle United debut in Saturday's 2-1 win over West Ham United.
The former Bordeaux man, who arrived at the Club on Monday, replaced Paul Dummett in the 57th minute of Saturday's Barclays Premier League fixture and was delighted to get off to a winning start on Tyneside.
Early goals from Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum saw the Magpies race into a two-goal lead, but Chancel Mbemba's error allowed Nikica Jelavic to reduce the deficit at the start of the second period.
Following his introduction, Saivet was deployed in a defensive midfield role and played a key role in helping Newcastle record their first victory of 2016, and climb out of the relegation zone in the process.
"I'm really happy," the 25-year-old told nufc.co.uk.
"It was great to be out there on the pitch but we wanted the three points more than anything.
"We played really well in the first half and deserved our lead. The second half was a bit more difficult - we gifted them a goal which took the wind out of our sails slightly - but we carried on fighting and we were happy to come away with the win in the end.
"Hopefully this will bring the team together and allow us to start putting wins together because we are not in the position we deserve to be in the league. We need to start looking up the table and continuing this level of performance."
The Senegalese international also felt the St. James' Park atmosphere helped cap an exciting start to his time on Tyneside.
"It's absolutely fantastic, it's the best atmosphere I've experienced in my career," Saivet revealed.
"You hear about the crowd being the 12th man, but with this crowd I think you could even say they were the 13th man at times - it was perfect.
"I've only been here a few days but everything has been fantastic so far.
"I've settled well, the players have been very welcoming and obviously the French lads make it easier as well."
Saturday's victory lifted Newcastle into 17th place in the top flight table, and Saivet is focused on picking up another three points at Watford next weekend.
"(Watford) is another crucial game for us," he continued.
"The last time we played Watford we lost so we know it's going to be a tough game but the team wants to go there and get revenge.
"After today we've got the ambition and the quality to keep on winning and we have to treat every game like a cup final."