Jermaine Jenas has offered his view on Newcastle United.
Pundit Jermaine Jenas has told BBC Sport that he thinks Newcastle United fans should enjoy the top half of the Premier League table while it lasts, citing concerns over the club’s goalscoring.
The Magpies take on Liverpool in the Premier League this afternoon, and will be looking to bounce back having lost 1-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion last weekend.
Rafael Benitez’s men looked toothless at the Amex Stadium, and need a response this afternoon as they look to get back to winning ways at St. James’ Park.
Before last week’s defeat at Brighton, Newcastle had won three games in a row, beating West Ham United, Swansea City and Stoke City to recover from two defeats in their opening two games.
However, Benitez now has questions to answer after last week’s blank, with goals from defenders Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark helpful yet somewhat unsustainable in the long term.
The Newcastle boss needs more from his attacking players, and pundit Jermaine Jenas has shared his concern for his former club with BBC Sport.
Jenas suggested that whilst it’s ‘great’ to see the Magpies in the top half of the Premier League table, Newcastle fans should enjoy it while it lasts, urging supporters to ‘enjoy the ride’ as they could face an unpredictable season.
Jenas admitted that it was ‘worrying’ that Newcastle never even looked like winning against Brighton, and he isn’t sure who will be scoring goals if captain Lascelles doesn’t score from a corner.
“It is great to see my old club Newcastle in the top half of the Premier League table, but my message to their fans would be to enjoy it while it lasts,” said Jenas. “Nobody knows what is going to happen with this Magpies team this season, so their supporters just have to enjoy the ride – and there are going to be a few ups and downs. They have won three and lost three of their six games so far, which is decent for a promoted side, and I am sure many Newcastle fans will be absolutely delighted by the way they have started the campaign.”
“But I try to look at performances rather than results at this stage because it gives you a good picture of what is to come – which was why it was interesting to be at the Amex Stadium on Sunday to see the way Rafael Benitez’s side were beaten by Brighton. Now, I did not necessarily expect Newcastle to go there and win because the Seagulls are not a bad side, but the worrying thing was that they never looked like taking the three points. And without putting too much of a dampener on their run of three straight wins before that defeat, their centre-half has scored their past two winners. My question would be this: if Jamaal Lascelles is not banging them in from a corner, who is going to score Newcastle’s goals? At the moment, I am not sure,” he added.
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