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We won't rest on our laurels, vows skipper
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Jamaal Lascelles insists that Newcastle United will not be taking their foot off the gas after coming through a testing week undefeated.
The Magpies drew 0-0 at Reading on Tuesday night – their first stalemate of the Sky Bet Championship season – having beaten both Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town away from home in the seven days prior.
There was little to choose between the two sides at the Madejski Stadium, though Matt Ritchie did hit the far post for United shortly before the break.
And, although they remain nine points clear of the third-placed Terriers, Lascelles is adamant that there is still plenty of work to be done if Newcastle are to regain their Premier League status at the first attempt.
“We all know how hard it is to get three points every week. We’ve got the players, but the Championship is a tough league. We are doing very well and we are going in the right direction, but there is a long way to go and we can’t go into any game thinking that we’re there – we need to prepare for every game like it’s a Cup final, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing,” he told nufc.co.uk.
“If you look at the last three games – including tonight – if somebody had offered us seven points out of nine beforehand, we’d have snapped their hand off. But, because we beat both Brighton and Huddersfield, we came into this game with a lot of confidence, and we came here to get three points.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Reading are a very good side, but we did create a lot of chances. We perhaps need to look at what we could have done to break them down, but I’m pleased with the clean sheet, and I thought we defended really well.”
Though Lascelles has been an ever-present over the last week – along with Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett – the Magpies have fielded a different player on the right of the backline on each occasion.
On Tuesday night, it was the turn of Jesus Gamez. Though the Spaniard had not started a Championship game for United since November, he drew praise from Lascelles for a solid display.
“We have a really good back-four. We’ve had three different right-backs in the last week – (DeAndre) Yedlin, Vurnon (Anita) and Jesus tonight, who hadn’t played in a while. They’ve all come in and done a great job, which just goes to show how good our squad is in depth.
“We’ve got players itching to play, and they’ve been really patient this season. Credit to the boys – I’m pleased with how we defended tonight.”
"We are doing very well and we are going in the right direction, but there is a long way to go and we can’t go into any game thinking that we’re there – we need to prepare for every game like it’s a Cup final, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing."