It’s easy to understand why Jamaal Lascelles is not only a Premier League defender, but also a captain.
“There were a lot of people who probably wrote me off saying ‘his time is up’,” he says of last season when, previously an ever-present, he made just two Premier League starts for fast-developing Newcastle United.
“But I will always say that I can look myself in the mirror having given 100 percent and done everything I could for everyone: for myself and for the club,” Lascelles explained.
“At first it was difficult to get used to the change because when I was fit I always played at Newcastle. But maturity is a big factor and you win things when the team plays well, even when you don’t play.
“I was wise enough to realize: ‘Okay, I may not be playing, but I’m at a club that might end up in the Champions League’. I was in a fantastic situation, a situation that most people dream of.
“So I wasn’t going to sulk; I wasn’t going to spit out my doll. I would cherish every moment because it was huge and it might not happen again. I started supporting everyone the same way people had supported me when I played. When you have players like that who put the badge before themselves, it creates real unity in the team. And when your time comes, take it.”
Lascelles’ time has come – and he has taken it. On Tuesday night he will take charge against Newcastle at the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain in a must-win (and probably winnable) Champions League match after re-establishing himself at the heart of Eddie Howe’s team.
An injury to Sven Botman handed the centre-back his chance and he has been one of Newcastle’s best performers since returning to the side for the League Cup win over Manchester City in September after not starting since March. On Saturday he scored in the impressive – and even more impressive considering the list of players out – 4-1 win over Chelsea.
“It feels like a different Newcastle now,” says Lascelles. “Anyone would run through a brick wall to play for the manager and play for the badge and that’s what I do. I love it.”
Mentioning the manager brings us to Howe and the transformative effect he has had. Interestingly, Lascelles says he grew up – he started his career at Nottingham Forest before joining Newcastle in 2014 – being exposed to ‘old-school’ managers who were more used to ‘dazzle and dazzle’ and bark orders.
“Otherwise you would be punished,” says Lascelles. “This gaffer has a completely different approach. I think he sees himself as a father figure to all of us. He wants to make sure that we are doing well, that we are happy. He has the playroom set up, but then he is strict in a different way. He is strict in the way we train; with the standards.
The gaffer sees himself as a father figure, but we have also seen the other side
“We’ve seen the other side of him, when he can try when someone doesn’t get his way. You don’t want to cross that line. I think he has found the balance perfectly and that is why everyone respects him and wants to do so well under him.
“It’s: ‘How can we improve him as a person?’ When you have someone who gives up that much time, he’s here at 5:30 in the morning, probably earlier, and he’s the last one to leave. So with the amount of effort he puts into us, you almost feel like you have to give him absolutely everything.”
The playroom? One of the changes under Newcastle’s new owners has been a revamp of the training ground: a new entrance, a gym, a better canteen and, yes, an area where the players can play pool or table tennis or just hang out together.
“No, before we had nothing,” says Lascelles. “It means that players might stay an extra half hour after training and build a bit of bond. It makes a difference. If you go to work and it’s a run-down building and there’s nothing to do and there’s no central heating and stuff like that, then it’s not really a nice place to be and that can affect your mood and so on.
“But when everything is here for you and there are so many caring people – the improvements in the canteen, with the chefs, everything – it means you’re excited to go to work and want to stay behind even longer. You talk to more people and build relationships that you might not necessarily have had if those facilities weren’t there, and that’s huge for the sport: building that chemistry. The gaffer is big on team bonding and we do that every day.”
The change of ownership in October 2021 away from Mike Ashley changed everything, it seems.
“We have owners who want us to succeed as well and as fiercely,” Lascelles said. “You almost have the feeling that you can no longer make mistakes and when you combine that hard work with a manager who breathes the same – ambition, work pace, culture, philosophy – and adds the improvement of the facilities, staff. Everywhere it is just under one percent. Nothing has been a massive turnaround overnight, but we are gradually adding one percent in every department, in every area. And that makes a huge difference.
“It’s probably also very different from the Man City takeover, when it was ‘go out and spend’. It’s a different era with those small one percent improvements, although ultimately it’s the manager who has made the biggest difference.”
As he speaks, thoughts drift back to an episode last summer in Philadelphia during Newcastle’s pre-season tour to the United States, when Howe, unprompted, grabbed the microphone and asked the audience if he could say a few words before launching into a gave a passionate explanation of how important Lascelles was and why he remains the captain.
“He didn’t have to pick up the microphone and say that. It was spontaneous. Completely,” says Lascelles. “I knew the answer before the press conference because I talk to him all the time, so I wasn’t shocked by what he said.
“I was shocked when he maybe took the microphone and put it in front of everyone who was there to stop asking these questions! It’s another reason why I rate him so highly as a manager, because he’s an honest man, a decent man. He was absolutely the perfect fit. At Bournemouth they played very good attacking football and having played here for so long I knew this was what the fans wanted. Front foot football.”
Another simple change Howe brought was the creation of a leadership group of senior players: Lascelles, Callum Wilson, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Matt Ritchie. “We have weekly meetings – are there any problems? Are there things we need to improve?” says Lascelles.
‘At 23 it is a difficult job to lead and manage 25 boys’
“For years at Newcastle – and I’ve been captain since I was 22 and I’m 30 now – there were times when I was left to fend for myself. As a young captain at 23 and 24, it is a difficult job to lead and manage 25 boys.”
Of course, it was made all the more difficult because of the toxic atmosphere that enveloped the club. Under Ashley it sometimes felt like a civil war and Lascelles, who was made captain under Rafael Benítez and kept it under Steve Bruce, was often the glue that held things together.
“At first it was of course a great honor when I received the bracelet, but I don’t think I realized how big it was. The responsibility was enormous,” says Lascelles.
“I had real test times. Real test times. But I don’t know, I have a very strong mentality and I’m quite driven. I always think everything will be fine. That’s it really.
“I have good people around me and I think if you work really hard, good things will come back to you. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing. That’s sports. There are so many people who want to be in my shoes. Even if things don’t go well, it’s a real privileged position.”
Before the acquisition, Lascelles received a call from one of the co-owners, Amanda Staveley. “I was very excited about what was to come. I think I was more excited for the fans and for the city,” he says.
“Amanda called to say it was happening and introduced herself to me. We had a short conversation and it was quite special because she didn’t have to do that. But it put everything on a good footing, even before I met her. They are wonderful people, very caring people.”
It’s been an adventure. Just seven years ago, Lascelles captained Newcastle against Rotherham United as they hoped to reach second place in the Championship. Now it is the Champions League that performed so remarkably in the unforgettable 4-1 win at St James’ Park, which saw the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembélé and Goncalo Ramos – a £350m striker – compete .
“I’ve seen it all. When I first joined – young, raw, fresh and now playing in the Champions League. It is a special journey and something I am very proud of; something I want to continue to strive for and do well for Newcastle,” said Lascelles.
The win over PSG gives Newcastle “huge confidence” ahead of this week’s encounter. “It’s clear they are a world-class team, perhaps one of the best teams in the world. But the preparation the manager made during training and how to beat them worked very well,” Lascelles argues.
Newcastle’s trajectory makes him all the more determined to stay in the team; at the club and as captain. “Yeah totally. I always joke and say to my dad, ‘I wish I was 23 on this team,’” Lascelles said. “I enjoy every minute. The fact that we have seen so many ups and downs and that the fans can now experience this is exactly everything they deserve.”
Are we seeing the best of him now?
“I would probably say yes,” Lascelles agrees. “I’m quite modest, so it’s a difficult question to answer, but when you’re in a team and you have all these world-class players around you, it makes your job so much easier. The team has improved and the people have improved with the team.”