Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles is full of praise for manager Eddie Howe.

Howe has instilled a winning mentality, as Lascelles puts it, aided by the recruitment of characters who have added to a spirit that was always there, even if it was suppressed at times.

"There's been times here, years here, where I've found it difficult, trying to keep the dressing-room together, keep relationships, keep things positive," says Lascelles.

"But now, when you've got five, six or seven players doing that, it just makes my job so much easier. We've got a great bunch, there is no negativity.

"Before, there is moaning about this and moaning about that. Everyone knows now just to nip it in the bud, even if there's a bit of grumbling. That can be quite a negative thing in the dressing-room and can cause upset.

"A lot of the stuff I do isn't necessarily on the pitch, it's on the training ground. You look at the bigger teams back in the day, like at Man United, they'd have a group of players, lieutenants. I think we've got that now, a leadership group.

"The new players have added to what was already here. The manager was smart about that. He went for players who are good in the dressing-room. Leaders.

"Chris Wood, a great guy off the pitch. Kieran Tripper, leader. Dan Burn, leader. Matt Targett, you're talking well-established players.

"And then you've got Bruno, who has got the quality and has mixed with the South American boys. The manager knows exactly what he's doing. The shift in mentality is down to him."