Your Newcastle United evening headlines for Wednesday, May 4.
Dubravka European aim
Martin Dubravka insists his ambition is to play in Europe for Newcastle. The Slovakian was United’s best player last weekend as his heroics kept the scoreline to a respectable 1-0 defeat against Liverpool.
Since arriving in January 2018, Dubravka has annually been involved in relegation battles, with no hope of winning silverware or mounting a continental charge. However, the £300million Saudi-backed takeover has given supporters - and players - hope that an exciting future lies ahead.
The 33-year-old outlined his intentions while referencing Manchester City and Liverpool as the benchmark for who the Magpies should aim to emulate. "It's been a difficult time for us, playing to survive in the Premier League,” he told NUFC TV.
READ MORE: Eddie Howe's big academy aim as Newcastle United move into phase two of takeover
“I always said that I have ambitions to play in European competitions with Newcastle, so this has always been my dream. If you look back at where I've played before, I always played in European competitions – at least the qualification round – so it would be nice to achieve that target here as well.
"When you watch the Champions League and European competitions, football has changed a lot in the last couple of years. Liverpool and Manchester City are great examples – short passing, trying to build it up, not just kicking the ball away.
"We are trying to get there, trying to see where we can improve, and you can see a few bits there already. Personally, I'm trying to work with my feet because I think there's always room to be better."
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‘He’s a very good politician’ - Shearer on Rafa
Alan Shearer thinks the contrasting perception held by Newcastle fans towards Rafa Benitez and Steve Bruce is due to the former’s media-savvy personality. The majority of Toon supporters respect Benitez for the three-and-a-half years of service, which saw the Magpies bounce back from the Championship and become a solid Premier League outfit.
However, his successor does not receive the same adulation despite also managing to keep United in the top flight for two seasons. Fans often point to the lack of backing Benitez was given by frugal owner Mike Ashley as a reason to commend the job he did.
However, club legend Shearer believes the problem runs deeper and Bruce suffered unfair criticism during his tenure. “He’s (Rafa) a very good politician,” Shearer told the BBC Match of the Day podcast.
“He knows what to say and how to say it. The way he spoke to the press, and how he got his message across. Because he knew the relationship the fans and Mike Ashley had. He played that game superbly well whereas Mike Ashley brought Steve in on the back of Rafa and it was always going to be very difficult for that.
"But Rafa played the press super, he had them eating out of his hand in terms of how he wanted to get his message across.”
Lascelles’ Joelinton praise
Jamaal Lascelles has hailed ‘tough’ Joelinton for his Tyneside transformation. Following a record-breaking £40million move in 2019, the Brazilian became a laughing stock after struggling to find his feet in the Premier League.
Tasked with playing up front by himself, Joelinton’s goal return was meagre and, heading into this season, patience from the fanbase was wearing thin. Despite this, the 25-year-old found the character to rejuvenate a stalled career and is now a stalwart in Eddie Howe’s line-up.
He is now making an impact from midfield and earned praise from his captain ahead of last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Liverpool. In his pre-match programme notes, Lascelles wrote: "I said to him after the game, as we were going to clap the fans, how tough of an individual he is.
"After coming here, wearing the No 9 shirt, probably playing out of position and receiving some of the criticism he received, to completely transform the way he's playing - to the point where he's such a key player for us now - just goes to show how tough he is. He kept working and he kept grinding."
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