Bruno Guimaraes, Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier lift the Carabao Cup following Newcastle United's win against Liverpool
Bruno Guimaraes, Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier lift the Carabao Cup following Newcastle United's win against Liverpool
Kieran Trippier has paid tribute to Jamaal Lascelles for 'letting' him lift the Carabao Cup following Newcastle United's historic win at Wembley.
Lascelles was named club captain by Eddie Howe last summer after Bruno Guimaraes was handed the role of team skipper with Trippier acting as the Brazil international's deputy. Lascelles was sidelined at the time and the defender has not played in more than a year after suffering a serious knee injury.
However, Lascelles remains a key figure behind the scenes and the 31-year-old was at the forefront of Trippier and Bruno's thoughts in the Royal Box following Newcastle's 2-1 win against Liverpool last month. Rather than getting caught up in the moment, and the prospect of becoming the first men to lift a major domestic trophy for Newcastle in seven decades, Bruno and Trippier waited and gestured to Lascelles to come over and grab one of the three handles before the trio raised the cup aloft together.
"It meant so much to lift the cup with Bruno and Jamaal," Trippier wrote in his programme notes. "That the three of us did it together summed up this group and the ethos this manager has instilled in us.
"Jam was our captain when this club was in a very different place. People may think it was a gesture from myself and Bruno to get Jam up to lift the trophy with us, but I see it differently. For me, it was an honour that Jam let me lift the trophy with him.
"When I signed for Newcastle, it was just about staying in the Premier League but I said at the time that I wanted to achieve big things here. To be honest, I didn't expect them to come quite so quickly and for the club to accelerate as quickly as it has, but we've earned the right to play in the Champions League and in two cup finals because of the way we've played, the players we have brought in and the way the manager has worked."