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'I felt so good on the pitch' - Saint-Maximin on St. James' bow
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Allan Saint-Maximin was delighted with his St. James’ Park welcome after making his Newcastle United bow against former club Saint-Étienne on Saturday.
The Frenchman linked up with the Magpies after leaving Nice 24 hours earlier, and entered the fray – to rapturous applause – midway through the second half.
The 22-year-old looked lively, testing Les Verts ‘keeper Stéphane Ruffier and creating a decent chance for Yoshinori Muto, before suffering a blow to the ankle with a minute to play.
Saint-Maximin looked to alleviate any concerns as to the seriousness of the injury, however, before taking the time to reflect on a whirlwind 24 hours.
“It was painful – a big kick, but it is OK,” he told nufc.co.uk, having been asked about the knock he sustained.
“I felt so good on the pitch. The trainer (Steve Bruce) let me play and I am happy for that. I need maybe more time, you know, to know my position, where I want the ball, and where my striker (is), and after that I can feel better. I had one opportunity to score and I gave a good ball to Muto. He didn’t score but it’s OK. I need that – to give a big ball, to shoot.
“I’m happy because the fans are amazing, and I know against Arsenal (next Sunday) all the people will come. They said to me like 50,000, and I can’t wait for that. I love the fans – the fans give you more power and that’s what I need. When you are a little bit tired and you hear the fans, you want to run and you want to do everything for the fans.
“It was a good game. We have a very good team but the trainer said it’s normal – you have to prove more and do more and more. Everybody has to do more because we play the first game against Arsenal and it will be a difficult game. But if everybody runs and does their best we can do great things.
“The last two days have been very long! It took a lot of time – the medical, and everything, so I didn’t sleep a lot of the time because the game was at 3 o’clock, but it’s OK now!”
Prior to playing for Monaco and Nice, Saint-Maximin spent two years in Saint-Étienne’s first team setup after joining the club as a teenager, making 17 appearances all told.
“It was my first team,” he smiled. “I started at Saint-Étienne, I signed for Newcastle, and I played against Saint-Étienne before I play in the Premier League! It’s a road. I don’t know if it’s God doing that, but I’m happy.”
"I felt so good on the pitch. I need maybe more time, you know, to know my position, where I want the ball, and where my striker (is), and after that I can feel better."