Lascelles - 'We'll Give It Our All'

By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor

Jamaal Lascelles has warned that Newcastle United's performances might not always be pretty between now and the end of the season - but has promised that he and his team-mates will "give it our all" to ensure that the Magpies survive in the Barclays Premier League this term.

Saturday's 3-0 win over Swansea handed a massive fillip to the Magpies ahead of Tuesday night's clash with Manchester City at St. James' Park (kick-off 7.45pm).

A second successive victory would see Rafa Benitez's men climb out of the bottom three and Lascelles, who opened the scoring at the weekend with a first-half header, told nufcTV that United would go into Tuesday's fixture in a positive frame of mind.

"It puts us on the front foot towards the game on Tuesday," said the defender. "Everyone's confident, the changing room's buzzing now, and I'm really pleased that we've got a game in a few days' time. That's what we need.

He added: "It's going to be a big fight for us.

"There's no reason why we can't do it; we're definitely going to fight and put on a good show for the fans.

"It might not be nice football but we're going to give it our all."

Lascelles' mood after the weekend's win was very different to just seven days earlier, when he admitted that Newcastle needed bigger characters on the pitch and said the team needed to play with more heart following the 3-1 defeat at Southampton.

But the 22-year-old backed up those words with a goal and a commanding performance on Saturday and said: "They had a bit of a hard go in the changing room after (Southampton) but we had a big reaction from it.

"The boys played with heart, desire and passion and they did exactly what the fans wanted them to do. I think that's been the most frustrating thing this season, because the talent's there but we just needed that heart and desire.

"(On Saturday) we showed it and that's why we got the three points.

"I was going to say it sooner or later and I think it's definitely something that needed to be said, especially in the position that we're in."

The former England under-21 international has shown maturity beyond his years both on and off the pitch in recent weeks and admitted: "I think it's just my character. In this changing room, we need a character because I think we've lacked it a bit this season.

"I'm young but I don't think that matters. I don't care about experience or anything like that. If you can talk, you can talk - so do it.

"But it's had a big reaction on the players and it's exactly what we needed, so I'm really pleased with them."

You can watch the full nufcTV interview with Jamaal Lascelles here