Matt Ritchie has played down the idea that he and Newcastle teammate Jamaal Lascelles have long standing issues with one another.
Ritchie said that there are no issues between him and the Newcastle skipper and that the pair were on speaking terms within 20 minutes of their training ground ‘discussion’ last month.
Ritchie, who was visibly angry at being substituted in Newcastle’s 0-0 draw with Cardiff not long before the incident, has admitted that he is a vocal character in training sessions and that he has, on occasions, been known to lose his cool.
The Magpies’ number 11 was quoted as saying:
We had a difference of opinion and a discussion about it – a lively discussion! Jamaal and I are two of the more vocal characters, very similar in the way we train and conduct ourselves. It was something which got overheated but it was nothing personal and 20 minutes later, everything was fine.
Ritchie was also eager to suggest that his ‘encouragement’ is never taken the wrong way:
The lads know me. I’ve been the same player since day one. Jonjo Shelvey will say to me, ‘Matty, please, just for today will you not shout?’. I’ll try it for 10 minutes but more often than not, I’ll fail. Sometimes they just ignore me and are thinking, ‘Just shut up’ but it doesn’t stop me because it makes me demand levels from myself. I’ve always been loud, always been vocal. It’s just my personality and I’ve never been one to shy away from voicing an opinion. I like to think I am honest and open with those around me and if you are demanding the highest standards from team-mates, your own standards have to be right up there as well.
