Newcastle United have recovered from their disastrous start to the Premier League season, which saw them win none of their opening 10 games, after recent back-to-back victories against Watford and Bournemouth. 

Rafael Benitez’s men now find themselves 14th in the table sitting on nine points, and captain Jamaal Lascelles has since praised his team-mates for not downing tools like previous Newcastle sides.

The Breakdown

The Magpies were, of course, relegated back in the 2015/16 season with Lascelles pinpointing players in the first team being unsettled as one reason as to why things went so badly during that campaign.

The 25-year-old, however, is not worried about such happening again under Benitez. “The gaffer is the one who brings the players in and has the players he wants here,” Lascelles told the Evening Chronicle.

“It is quite important that the players want to be here. It does make a big difference. Just knowing I have the security here is a weight off your mind.”

Prior to their recent wins over Watford and Bournemouth, results had not been good enough for Newcastle. But assessing their performances, the commitment of the players is not something that can be doubted.

Everyone is still playing and putting in a shift for Benitez, something that cannot be said about the last Newcastle team who found themselves in a similar predicament.

Given that, the overall quality of the squad and the Benitez factor, results should only continue to get better and Newcastle should not be near the relegation zone come the end of the season.