RAFAEL BENITEZ thinks Jonjo Shelvey is determined to do the right things as Newcastle United’s key midfielder after describing how the pair discuss his strengths and weaknesses on the training ground daily.

Shelvey has been hammered for a Jekyll and Hyde performance at Bournemouth on Saturday when his display helped put the Magpies in control at one stage and then contributed to letting the lead slip late on.

It has since emerged that he suffered a knee injury during the second half at the Vitality Stadium and is set to undergo a scan; he will have further tests later in the week ahead of Saturday’s trip to his former club Liverpool.

Ex-Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard’s brutal assessment of Shelvey’s display at Bournemouth centred on outlining how the defensive side of the game cost Newcastle when they let a two-goal advantage slip.

Lampard, on Match of the Day, explained how Shelvey failed to track Lewis Cook and then criticised him for having “his hands on his knees” while his team-mates were doing the best to keep the Cherries at bay.

Shelvey had shown his class in the first half by displaying his passing power, only for his lapses in concentration to come under fire from Lampard and other since.

Benitez, who has tried hard to curb the 26-year-old’s disciplinary issues during his time at St James’ Park, knows all about the player’s weaknesses and remains focused on doing what he can to help.

The Newcastle manager said: “When the team is doing well Jonjo is playing well. He has been training really well recently, he enjoys football and when he is doing well that’s great for us.

“I talk to him a lot of times, every session, for me he is learning and it is a question of him being able to manage situations and all the pressure of people watching him and analysing his behaviour. Hopefully he will carry on and keep doing what he wants to do.

“I tried to trust him from the beginning in terms of his game, the way he manages his life, we have spoken about these things for a while.

“One thing is he loves football, doesn’t miss a session, he wants to win and see his teammates play well, sometimes he makes mistakes and that’s something he has to manage. We have seen he is focused and trying to do the right things.”

Benitez will anxiously awaiting the results of Shelvey's knee scan. He was hurt during the 2-2 draw and they feel it is still too early to draw conclusions on the extent of the damage.

A club statement read: “Jonjo Shelvey suffered a knee injury during Saturday's draw at Bournemouth. The midfielder will be further assessed and scanned this week.”'

Shelvey still managed to complete the 90 minutes and was also criticised for having his hands on his knees again for Bournemouth’s late equaliser from Dan Gosling.

The £12m signing from Swansea in January 2016 has made 23 appearances for the club this season and was a central figure in their 1-0 win over Manchester United on February 11.

Shelvey had been playing some of his best football so any length of time on the sidelines will come as a blow to the player and club.

Shelvey has consulted a psychologist over the anger issues Benitez spoke about and has recently shone to help Newcastle keep themselves out of the Premier League's bottom three.

During last season’s promotion winning campaign he had to serve a five-match ban after being found guilty of racially abusing Wolves midfielder Romain Saiss - a charge he strongly denied - and he has been sent off twice this term.

Benitez will be desperate to have Shelvey available because injuries are growing. He will hope Matt Ritchie has recovered from illness, while Dwight Gayle is being monitored with hamstring niggles.

Islam Slimani and Jesus Gamez remain on the treatment table and will not be back for the trip to Anfield, so Gayle's fitness is more crucial because of a lack of options in the final third.

Benitez gave permission for Aleksandar Mitrovic to head for Fulham on loan before the deadline and Anderlecht have hinted they could make a fresh move for him in the summer.

The Belgium club were unable to get the deal done and that paved the way for Fulham to move in ahead of Middlesbrough and Mitrovic has started well at Craven Cottage to increase their chances of promotion.

Anderlecht’s new owner Mark Coucke said: “I don’t understand what Anderlecht did. You need solutions if players leave. Sorry, but it’s called management. Anderlecht had a problem scoring goals, but they sold four players: Hanni, Stanciu, Harbaoui and Beric. And I would have liked for Mitrovic to come. That would have been a good thing.”