Jamaal Lascelles admits Newcastle takeover bid put the skids on their season
Amanda Staveley's attempts to buy club from Mike Ashley collapsed after three offers were rejected and Toon captain says off-field speculation caused problems on the pitch
JAMAAL LASCELLES has become the first Newcastle player to confess that takeover talk put the skids on their season.
Owner Mike Ashley publicly announced the Toon were up for sale on October 16 when they were ninth in the table.
Financier Amanda Staveley, who was sat in the stands for Newcastle’s draw with Liverpool a fortnight before that, then launched three bids to buy the club – the first being on November 2.
But the Magpies endured a nine-match winless run from October until December and were down in 15th when Ashley finally pulled the plugs on talks with Staveley on January 16.
Since then, Newcastle have been unbeaten at St James’ Park, seeing off Manchester United and Southampton in their last two home games.
And Lascelles has welcomed the relative stability of recent weeks, admitting that the uncertainty over the club’s ownership during the winter affected the dressing room.
The Newcastle captain, 24, said: “Now that the stuff with the owner and the takeover has died down, that helps.
“Whether it was going to happen or it wasn’t going to happen, it is less to think about as a player.
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“We now know we are in a stable environment at a stable club.
“You might not really think about it much, but it probably will have an effect on some individuals.
“As a player you don’t want to be in a team where there is loads of paper talk about stuff not related to us.
“You don’t want anything negative coming out.
“But everything is running smoothly now, everything is positive and I think it’s just down to us to make sure we keep the fans happy.”
Newcastle host relegation rivals Huddersfield on Saturday in another crunch clash in the battle at the bottom.
But while the players’ main focus is on securing safety this season, Lascelles knows that crucial to the long-term stability at Newcastle will be keeping their beloved boss Rafa Benitez.
The Spaniard has another year left on his contract but has lost trust in Ashley after not getting what he wanted in the last three transfer windows.
And Lascelles has urged the Toon hierarchy to pull their fingers out this summer to ensure Benitez does not walk away.
The centre-half said: “We’ve got a manager who trusts us and he wants to be here, the fans are with him, so that’s really important for the players.
“I think for a while now, bringing Rafa in is the best thing that this club has done.
“Since he has been here things have been on the up. He has brought the club together and the city together.
"I think it’s important that the club does everything to keep him happy and holds on to him for as long as possible.
“He is an excellent manager, he has won trophies, he has worked in many different leagues and he knows what it takes to be successful. It has only been positive since he arrived.
“Even before he arrived, when we found out he had got the job, we couldn’t wait to work with him. We wanted to impress him from the first week.
“He’s been here two seasons now but you still have that same feeling - you want to impress him, you want to do well for him because he commands that respect.
“With the manager we have got, the fanbase, the stadium and the history, everything is there to grow.
“With this manager in charge, if he stays, he will definitely attract different types of players. Players will want to come here and play.”
Lascelles has been Newcastle’s stand-out player this season and was disappointed not to win a first England call-up for the friendlies with Holland and Italy.
He also believes Gareth Southgate was wrong to overlook his Toon team-mate Jonjo Shelvey.
And he added: “I was waiting to see if I got a text before the team got announced and I spoke to my agent, so I was disappointed when I found out.
“But Southgate obviously likes what he likes, he’s gone with different centre halves and that’s up to him. He clearly likes the other guys over me.
“I’ll just focus on Newcastle. If anything it will motivate me more to kick on with Newcastle and maybe prove him wrong.
“As for Jonjo, I train with him every single day and technically he is so talented.
“I’m not dissing anyone who is in the England team, they are there for a reason and they are very good players.
“But Jonjo can quite comfortably compete at that level. Technically he’s right up there with the best in the Premier League."