Eddie Howe reveals what's 'helping' Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles

The performances of Newcastle United’s captain had come under scrutiny before Eddie Howe’s appointment in November.

Howe, however, quickly gave Lascelles his backing – and kept faith with the defender amid calls from some fans for a change at the back – and a new skipper.

There was another difficult moment for Lascelles in Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over Everton at St James’s Park. An attempted clearance from Matt Targett bounced off Lascelles and into the net to give the visitors the lead.

However, Lascelles, appointed captain six years ago, forced a swift equaliser with a header from a corner which struck the crossbar and went in off Mason Holgate.

The 28-year-old went on to play his part in a hugely-important win for Newcastle, now 17th in the Premier League.

“I’ve been very impressed with Jamaal since I’ve come in,” said Howe. “I’ve seen a player that really wants to do well, is very open to learning and improving – and is very focused to achieve. I think he’s produced some very good performances for us.”

Howe signed Kieran Trippier, a player former skipper Alan Shearer has labelled a “future” Newcastle captain, in last month’s transfer window.

And United's head coach believes the “leaders” the club signed in the window have helped 28-year-old Lascelles.

“He’s led the group very well behind the scenes, and, I think, we’ve given him some help by adding some leaders in the transfer window as well,” said Howe.

“Having that strong leadership through the spine of the team, and not just putting all the emphasis on Jamaal, I think, has been hugely important. I’ve been very, very pleased, and I hope there’s more to come.”

Meanwhile, Trippier has told his team-mates to forget about the Everton game, which followed a 1-0 victory over Leeds United last month, and focus on Sunday’s home fixture against Aston Villa.

“It’s massive,” said the 31-year-old. “We had a massive result at Leeds, but we can’t just perform one week and then not perform the next few games. We need to be consistent – and we were. We knew how big it was, but how big every game is, but to have back-to-back wins in the position we’re in, it’s very positive.”

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