Callum Wilson admits it was 'bittersweet' to provide the assist for Alexander Isak's winning goal at Brentford as the Newcastle United striker revealed his response to being benched after netting twice. The Magpies' number nine scored two goals in the thumping 5-1 midweek win at West Ham, only to be named as a substitute three days' later for the clash with the Bees.
Eddie Howe's side made a poor start to the contest at the Brentford Community Stadium and trailed at the break to an Ivan Toney penalty. Wilson alongside January signing Anthony Gordon were brought on for the second half, and the former made a decisive impact as he teed-up strike partner Isak to complete the comeback 2-1 win.
The England international initially struggled for form following the World Cup, and lost his starting spot in recent weeks to the club-record signing. The pair linked up well once again, but Wilson admits his latest display was driven by a determination to prove Howe wrong.
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When asked about his partnership with Isak and the performance, he told the Footballer's Football Podcast: "Bittersweet. Can't lie, obviously scored a brace in midweek against West Ham and next minute find myself on the bench again. It was one of them performances where you're angry, it's a frustrating one.
"The manager makes the decision and you stand by that obviously, of course, 100%. To get introduced at half-time, you have to stay ready as a footballer at all times. You can kind of let yourself go in a sense when you know you're not starting, and not prepare properly and not be mentally where you need to be.
"I was called upon and it was right, you've got 45 minutes to go and affect the game. Go and prove why it was the wrong decision to put you on the bench today, and that's all you can do as a footballer. It's how you react."
Wilson scored as late substitute in the home victory over Manchester United after the international break, and grabbed a brace in his first start in four matches with the win against the Hammers. The 31-year-old was withdrawn on the hour-mark at the London Stadium with a hat-trick in sight, and was asked how he then handled being named as a substitute against Brentford.
Wilson explained: "As I've learnt the older I've got in football, it's to let them conversations be one-sided initially when you're getting told because emotions speak rather than logic thinking in your mind. For example, a manager pulls you on the day of a game and says he's going to rotate the team, bearing in mind you've just scored a brace and you've only played 60 minutes so you're thinking they must be saving me for a bit of time in the game on the weekend, [I] just nodded.
"That's all you can do, leave it as it is and I'm not going to cause a scene on a day of a game. It doesn't help anybody, it doesn't help the team, it doesn't help myself, and you have to be mature and be part of the team. Be a leader, and show how to handle that situation in the right way and let your football do the talking.
"I have great respect for the manager and always respect his decisions. It was what it was, it benefitted the team and ultimately we won the game. I come on and setup the winner, and had an impact in that result so we'll see what happens next game. I can score two goals and get dropped, so I ain't even predicting line-ups anymore!"
Wilson was also denied a fourth Premier League goal in the space of a week after a controversial VAR call chalked off his effort against Brentford. The forward dispatched the ball beyond David Raya, but was penalised for handball following a deflection in the area.
Wilson said: "Don't even get me started on the handball rule of this game. It's carnage. My disallowed goal, it's hit Ivan Toney and then hit my arm. The sleeve up, I believe is not handball, which has happened and it's bounced to me and I've scored.
"So they've disallowed the goal for handball, but that's because it's hit my arm after it's hit Toney's arm. So if I'm handballing it, it's handball from his point of view so it's got to be a penalty then. Yet it's a disallowed goal and a free-kick to them.
The striker added: "It was off my sleeve as well, they've not even zoomed in on the VAR. They've just disallowed it, send him over to the monitor to have a look. It's above my sleeve, so obviously whoever is on the VAR, I'm guessing I gave them some stick a few weeks prior!"
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