Magpies need to attack

A point from a goalless draw at Crystal Palace is not in itself a bad result, but put in the context of no wins from the first six Premier League games, it leaves Newcastle still in the relegation zone and supporters fearing nothing but a season of toil.

Captain Lascelles, who overcame an ankle problem to marshal the defence, knows Newcastle have to start winning soon and will only out-score opponents if they are more adventurous in the final third. Home games with Leicester and Brighton, with a trip to Manchester United, are on the immediate horizon.

“We set our goal to win at Palace,” he said. “It didn’t happen but we take the positives, of which I think there were a lot, and we go for the three points next weekend because that first win needs to happen soon.

“The self-belief is high, especially after this draw. We went up against a top, top side who are very good going forward, and we stopped them playing good football.

“Now we just need to build, work on our strengths, and be a bit more positive and go for games attacking-wise in the next few weeks.

“We are pleased with a point. We knew it was going to be a tough game but we stuck to our game plan, played to our strengths where we could, and stopped them. I thought we did that excellently, so now we need to keep this momentum and take it into the Leicester game.”

It is no secret that the defence is Newcastle’s strong point and it was noticeable that Wilfried Zaha was kept quieter than usual, although a back problem that required treatment just minutes before kick-off must also have been a factor. He was treated robustly by when he had the ball - DeAndre Yedlin was booked for chopping him down but strong tackles by Federico Fernandez brought no reaction from referee Andre Marriner.

“Everybody knows he’s a good player and, on his day, he’s sometimes unplayable,” Lascelles added. “But I thought DeAndre did well, and then Dummy (Paul Dummett) did when he went to the other side, too.”