Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles has opened up on his clash with Matt Ritchie last month.

The pair squared up during a training session.

“What have I made about what's been written about us? Well, as everybody knows, some people when they get a sniff of anything and they'll make it into a much bigger deal than it is," Lascelles told nufcTV when he was asked about the training-ground incident.

“This is sport; every sportsman would say the same: a group of men, on the training pitch, with adrenaline flying... there's going to be, I wouldn't say altercations, but there's going to be arguments.

“We've got such a passionate team where we all want to do so well and players will speak their voice, and we'll get stuck in. Arguments will happen, but in terms of off-the-pitch stuff, it'll never change anything personally.

“It'll always stay on the pitch and you shake hands after. For me, I think that's a good thing.

“Personally, I think that's a winning mentality, because if you don't care and you don't say anything, or you don't want to put your foot in, then you're going to get relegated.

“You can't play with players like that. Things will happen on the training pitch where players will fall out.

“But in terms of it affecting our team spirit, and me not liking somebody or someone else not liking somebody else, it won't change that.

“We're a bunch of men, and it's just sport. How it's gotten to a bigger deal than it has, I'm not sure, because half of the stuff that has been written is completely not true, at all."