'Smells like team spirit' says Newcastle skipper

The Magpies moved to the top of the Championship table for the first time this season as they claimed a 2-0 win at Barnsley on Tuesday night, with the strength of the bond uniting the club’s players apparent in the raucous celebrations that followed Dwight Gayle’s decisive second goal at Oakwell.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was an unused substitute on Tuesday, yet he raced down the touchline to join in the celebrations, along with a number of his team-mates, and the entire match-day squad joined together at the final whistle to celebrate in front of almost 6,000 travelling fans.

Lascelles has helped nurture a renewed sense of unity since being appointed as Newcastle’s captain in the summer, and while a run of regular victories is undoubtedly helping to maintain a mood of optimism, it is to the Magpies’ credit that the hangover from last season’s relegation has disappeared so quickly.

“It’s not just the 11 boys on the pitch - we’ve got a squad of 18 and we’ve got some players who’ve had to miss out,” said Lascelles, who has started 12 of Newcastle’s 13 league games this season. “The gaffer’s got a hard team to choose from. We’ve got a massive squad in terms of depth and talent.

“The ones on the bench are itching to get on. Credit to them, they’ve not spat their dummies out. They’re going to stick with us and congratulate us. That sort of attitude and mentality will tick us over, and it’s exactly what we needed.

“I’ve never really been involved in anything like this before. Last season was a bit up and down, but this season has been completely different.

“Rafa’s made some great signings - not just talented players but also great lads. The dressing room is so important, it does go a long way. If you do things outside the dressing room, then you’re going to do it on the pitch.”

Tuesday’s victory saw Newcastle leapfrog Norwich to move to the top of the table, and the club’s position was strengthened further on Wednesday when promotion rivals Huddersfield crashed to a heavy defeat at Preston.

When the Magpies were last in the Championship, in the 2009-10 season, they first topped the table in late August and only spent three days out of the top two in the whole of the rest of the season.

Ideally, things will be as simple again this time around, but with the top four teams in the table currently being separated by just three points, it could take a fair amount of time for anyone to establish a position of marked superiority.

Nevertheless, with 12th-placed Ipswich visiting Tyneside tomorrow, and Newcastle’s following five games pitting them against teams in the bottom half of the table, the next month could be crucial in terms of cementing a position in the automatic promotion spots.

“We’ve set a marker now,” said Lascelles, who has formed an extremely effective centre-half pairing with Ciaran Clark in recent games. “We need to hold this position, but at the same time we don’t want to get carried away.

“We’ve still got to take every game step by step, and we’ll be preparing for the next game like we normally do.”

Newcastle’s players will also be hoping Dwight Gayle continues on the remarkable scoring run that has seen him claim seven goals in his last four outings.

The Championship’s leading goalscorer has scored five goals in his last two appearances at St James’ Park, following up his hat-trick against Norwich with two more successes against Brentford, and is the most in-form striker in English football at the moment.

His £10m summer move from Crystal Palace could hardly have gone better, although his team-mates are urging him not to start taking anything for granted despite his recent success.

“It’s always nice when your strikers are banging them in like that,” said Lascelles. “At the same time, he’s getting great deliveries from midfield - everyone’s playing a part.

“Dwight’s up there to do that, and he’s doing his job. But he has to keep his feet on the floor, and keep working hard.”