Friday 22 September 2017 23:40, UK
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has told Jamaal Lascelles to stay focused if he wants to catch the eye of England boss Gareth Southgate.
The 23-year-old central defender is in the form of his life after blossoming during the Magpies' early weeks back in the Premier League, scoring winning goals in each of the club's last two games.
Such has been his contribution to Newcastle's three-game winning run that he has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Southgate's senior squad, although Benitez is keen to keep the former Nottingham Forest trainee's feet firmly on the ground.
The Spaniard, who took his skipper to one side this week to talk to him, said: "I did it with him, but I've done this with some players. When you are doing really well, I say to them it's important to concentrate on their jobs.
"If they are doing well, what they have to do is keep doing the same things. I have years of experience.
"It's the most difficult thing. If you are doing well and everyone is praising you and praising you, sometimes if you are young you lose your focus. It's to remind them that this is the way to continue being praised.
"He's happy with this approach. It's quite easy for me to tell him, 'You have to keep working hard', because he was doing it anyway.
"We're trying to improve other things in his game, but in terms of this - his mentality and character - he's fine."
Lascelles, who captained the Magpies to promotion last season and will hope to do so once again at Brighton on Sunday live on Sky Sports, was not even in the starting XI as they launched their campaign against Tottenham, but Florian Lejeune's ankle injury gave him his chance and he has not looked back.
Asked if he could be an England player one day, Benitez said: "He's someone that has the potential and has to keep working the same way that he's working, and he will improve.
"How much will he improve? I don't know. But he has the potential and that's quite positive."
