Jamaal Lascelles has given an account of what happened on the training ground between himself and Matt Ritchie last month.
The well-publicised spat was also said to have included manager Rafael Benitez, and despite missing his side’s match with Chelsea, Lascelles was absent due to injury rather than any extra-curricular factor.
Lascelles is insistent however that the dispute was entirely resolved, however.
Speaking to NUFC TV (quoted by Chronicle Live), the club captain said:
What have I made about what’s been written about us? Well, as everybody knows, some people when they get a sniff of anything and they’ll make it into a much bigger deal than it is,
This is sport; every sportsman would say the same: a group of men, on the training pitch, with adrenaline flying… there’s going to be, I wouldn’t say altercations, but there’s going to be arguments.
We’ve got such a passionate team where we all want to do so well and players will speak their voice, and we’ll get stuck in. Arguments will happen, but in terms of off-the-pitch stuff, it’ll never change anything personally.
The central defender has proved instrumental to Newcastle’s success lately, and attributes much of that to the atmosphere in the team.
It’ll always stay on the pitch and you shake hands after. For me, I think that’s a good thing.
Personally, I think that’s a winning mentality, because if you don’t care and you don’t say anything, or you don’t want to put your foot in, then you’re going to get relegated.
You can’t play with players like that. Things will happen on the training pitch where players will fall out.
