Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has said that interim manager Graeme Jones delivered only a simple message at half-time against Brighton last night.
Speaking to Newcastle’s official website, the reported £12m signing from Swansea City revealed that Jones only encouraged his side to keep going after going 1-0 down at the break to Brighton.
Newcastle claimed only their second point under Jones after Isaac Hayden’s second-half equaliser saw the Toon draw 1-1. With Eddie Howe spotted alongside Amanda Staveley in the stands.
The former AFC Bournemouth manager is likely to be announced as the new head coach of the club in the coming days. Howe was one of two managers on Newcastle’s final shortlist alongside Unai Emery.
But according to Shelvey, Jones did enough at half-time to motivate Newcastle against Brighton. The midfielder said when asked about the coach’s plan at the break: “(He said) just to ‘keep going’. We tried to play football tonight, which we haven’t done in recent weeks.”
Shelvey later added: “In the second half, we were the better team, and we should have won the game, really.”
Brighton draw is the perfect base for Howe to build Newcastle from
Newcastle might be bottom of the Premier League, but a point away from home against a high-flying Brighton side will be more than acceptable to both the board and supporters. And for Howe, it gives the incoming manager the perfect ground to build something from.
Confidence will no doubt be high amongst the squad following their result on the south coast. And Howe will be eager to tap into this ahead of their upcoming Premier League games this month after the international break.
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