Newcastle United stars have been told not to waste the growth the club has had over the last few years
Harvey Barnes of Newcastle United celebrates with teammates after scoring against Brentford
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Newcastle United's players have been told that they must 'find the answer' quickly if they are to turn around their Premier League form.
The Magpies sit in 14th spot just two points above the drop zone after a difficult couple of weeks on the road. The 3-1 loss at Brentford on Sunday was their third successive away defeat in the league.
It has led to some honest and difficult conversations between the players, led by the senior leadership group that includes Kieran Trippier, Jamaal Lascelles, Nick Pope, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes.
Lascelles was on the bench at the Gtech Stadium, and has only featured twice in the Premier league this season as a late substitute against Bournemouth and Arsenal. However, he remains a vocal presence in the dressing room and he has urged the players not to rest on their laurels and find a way through the sticky patch.
Newcastle's form has undoubtedly dipped since the famous Carabao Cup win in March, but Lascelles has warned that they must keep on growing and not waste the opportunity they have.
"The club's been really successful in the past few years, we won a trophy," he said. "We just need to make sure as players that it doesn't stop there, that we keep growing.
"We keep finding a way to win. We keep giving the fans more of a reason to keep driving us.”
Lascelles was one of only two players - Trippier the other - to stop and speak to the media after the Brentford defeat. And the 31-year-old defender insists that there is no mentality issue in the dressing room after another bad performance away from St James' Park, where their form still remains strong.
“Very disappointing, obviously, any [negative] result is,” he told Newcastle World. “I thought the boys, obviously, they gave their all. But again, it's another defeat on the road. Now it's just time for us to stick together even more and go again and work even harder.
“I mean, that's all you can do, team sport. But again, I thought it was pretty even in terms of quality. The game could have gone either way, It was just fine margins that kind of cost us. But yeah, we just need to do better.”
Asked whether they was a problem with the mental strength, he added: “No, it's not for us. Home or away, we approach every single game with the same attitude, same mentality.
"Obviously, the results aren't there. So I get why people might think it will be a thing. It's just down to us players to make sure that it stops.
“Us as players, we know at home the fans do give us an extra five per cent. Away teams, when they come to St James' Park, it's their worst place to come because of the fans. So yeah, they do give us an extra boost. But we approach every game the same.
"Our fans were loud [at Brentford]. Even though the numbers aren't the same at St James’, they were singing the whole time. They applauded us after the game, like they always do. We just need to find the answer of just winning the game.”
“We appreciate them massively for that at home and away, they're great."