Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has played four times for Rafael Benitez’s side so far this season.
Ritchie is known for his passion and determination, and that is one of the key reasons why he has become so popular at St. James’ Park.
But Ritchie admits that he may not be quite so loved by his teammates on the training ground.
“The lads know me,” said Ritchie, who joined Newcastle in a £12 million deal (Telegraph) two years ago. “I’ve been the same player since day one. Jonjo Shelvey will say to me, ‘Matty, please, just for today will you not shout?’. I’ll try it for 10 minutes but more often than not, I’ll fail.
“Sometimes they just ignore me and are thinking, ‘Just shut up’ but it doesn’t stop me because it makes me demand levels from myself.”
Ritchie’s determination earlier this season rather overstepped the mark, as he got into a publicised disagreement with Jamaal Lascelles on the training ground.
The Newcastle pair have now recovered from that disagreement, and are on good terms again.
Ritchie has made four appearances for Newcastle so far this term, and claimed one assist, but he has not yet been able to help the Magpies pick up their first win.
Newcastle have been in poor form so far this season, and their struggles have left them near the bottom of the Premier League table.
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