Jamaal Seeking Hometown Glory

By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor

He was born in Derby and spent his formative footballing years with the Rams' rivals, Nottingham Forest, but Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles says he will treat Saturday's game against his hometown club just like any other.

The Magpies will look to extend their winning run to four league games - and five in all competitions - against Nigel Pearson's side in a televised 5.30pm kick-off at the iPro Stadium.

And that's all 22-year-old Lascelles is focusing on, even though he once lived within walking distance of County's training ground in Oakwood.

"I grew up in Derby, so it is pretty much a home game in that respect - but it doesn't change anything," he told nufcTV this week. "It's still a normal game for me and we're all going to approach it the same way.

"Being at Forest since I was eight, Derby had always been our rivals but now I'm at Newcastle things are different and Derby, like I said, are just a normal team to me. I just see them as any other Championship team. I haven't got anything against the club but we've just got to go there and get the three points.

"Derby are always a good team - they're normally up there at the end of the season so it's going to be a tough game, especially going to their place. Okay, they haven't started off great but in the Championship it doesn't really matter about the name of the team. Burton beat them the other week and people wouldn't expect that, so we've got to approach it like we have the last couple of games and we'll be fine.

"It's a massive game. We've got some huge games coming up - Norwich, Villa, QPR - so if we can get through this period and carry on the way we have, it's obvious but we'll be flying. We can't get carried away, we've just got to take it game by game and step by step."

Lascelles' father, Tim, played basketball for Derby Storm and the Newcastle defender could have followed in his footsteps had he not decided to focus on football. He was offered a trial for the England youth basketball squad before opting to sign his first professional contract at Forest.

"My family grew up playing basketball; I played until the age of about 14 and my brother (Rema) has just come back from America. He did a four-year scholarship there," explained Lascelles.

"It's a family background and my dad used to play for the Derby Storm. There's no real connections on the football side, but definitely on the basketball side.

"I've had people asking for tickets and stuff but we get a certain amount shared between the boys, so I'll sort the family out first and if there's any more, I'll give them to my friends."

You can watch the full nufcTV interview with Jamaal Lascelles here