'Hurt' Chancel Mbemba reacts to being left out of Rafa Benitez's Newcastle team

Mbemba has only made six Premier League starts so far this term.

And the 23-year-old defender, signed from Anderlecht in the summer of 2015, admits "it hurts" to watch the team from the sidelines.

Speaking to the club's matchday programme ahead of tonight's home game against Everton, the DR Congo international said: "Obviously, when I'm not in the team, it hurts.

"But this is the reality of football. When these things happen, you need to be very strong mentally and continue to work.

"The manager's the one who knows best, and who he wants to choose.

"He's the boss, and we're behind him and support him.

"Being strong mentally is something you have from the start. I needed to be strong from the outset when I was in Africa.

"You need to know that, in life, things will not always be easy, and you need to keep this in mind.

"Sometimes you can make mistakes, or go down the wrong road.

"But thanks to God, he gave me a strong mentality which not everyone has. But sometimes things aren't easy."