Newcastle United defender Lewis Cass was delighted to be part of their FA Cup squad for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Rochdale.

Cass was named on the bench along with youngsters Elias Sørensen and Tom Allan as the Magpies were held to 1-1 draw against the League One outfit at Spotland.

"It was a great experience to be involved with the first team," Cass told nufc.co.uk. "It's completely different to under-23 football as you get more information before the game and at half-time and things like that. I took all that in and hopefully I can use it in future games.

"It was a little bit different to when I was on the bench against Fulham due to some of the ways that the coaches approach it and how they talk to the players. I liked to be a part of that and see what is different.

"Steve Harper mentioned the day before that we (Elias and Tom) would probably be travelling with the lot and after I trained, I went home and then got a text on Thursday night saying that I'd be travelling the next day with the squad.

"I was training for two days before the game with the first team which was really good. Training with the senior players helps build up your confidence and, hopefully, I can get a lot more opportunities like that.

"It is a bit strange because, even though I've grown up playing with the likes of Matty and Sean (Longstaff), there were players who have signed for millions of pounds, who I've watched on the telly and you're then training with them.

"I can take a lot from that occasion because the coaches put us in there for a reason and haven't just picked us out from a hat. We can build confidence from the experience and potentially strive for more up there."