Jonjo Shelvey 'given kick up backside' at Newcastle United

Jonjo Shelvey celebrates his goal against West Ham.

That’s the verdict of Steve Bruce ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League home game against Bournemouth.

Shelvey made a goalscoring return to the starting XI in last weekend’s 3-2 win over West Ham United, his boyhood club. Longstaff, 19, had been picked ahead of Shelvey in midfield while Isaac Hayden served a three-game ban.

“Even Jonjo he was injured, he had a bit of an injury, tried to play through it, and the one thing you can’t do is carry someone,” said head coach Bruce.

“He responded in the right way to being left out, trained the right way. The emergence of Matty has given him the kick up the backside he needed. We all know Jonjo’s a very decent player. He set the standard last week, and hopefully he’ll repeat that this week.”