Jamaal Lascelles reveals what the dressing room was like after Newcaslte's defeat to Blackburn

Jamaal Lascelles has lifted the lid on the dressing room mood after Newcastle United's winning run came to an end.
Blackburn Rovers celebrate at the end of the match after beating NewcastleBlackburn Rovers celebrate at the end of the match after beating Newcastle
Blackburn Rovers celebrate at the end of the match after beating Newcastle

Blackburn Rovers beat Rafa Benitez’s side 1-0 at St James’s Park on Saturday end a run of nine successive victories.

Captain Lascelles, an unused substitute in the Championship game, says the players found the defeat hard to take.

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“It was a strange feeling in the dressing room,” said Lascelles, who will return to the starting XI for tonight’s EFL Cup final against Hull City.

“How do you act? We are used to having the music on and everyone laughing and joking, but there was none of that.

“The boys have come in and their heads are down. We are not used to losing.

“It is my job to get everyone’s head high after we have lost. What we can’t do it think negative.

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“We have a brilliant game around the corner at Hull and another at (Nottingham) Forest on Friday.

“It is nothing to worry about – one defeat out of however many.

“The boys were not up to it, not sharp, but we will fix it.”

Newcastle are looking to reach their first cup semi-final since 2005, though Lascelles admits the league leaders’ overriding ambition remains promotion back to the Premier League.

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“It’s a massive game,” said Lascelles. “We want to go to the semis.

“We don’t want to focus too much on the cup.

“We want a balance and to do really well in the league, but get as far as we can in the cup.

“It is a balance of who to play and when, and we have a massive squad.”