Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has revealed that he has no problem with club captain Jamaal Lascelles after reports suggested that the two fell out prior to playing Chelsea on Sunday, according to a report on the Chronicle.
Lascelles missed the 2-1 defeat to the Blues with an ankle injury and is expected to be fit this week.
However, there were claims that Benitez and Lascelles clashed at the training ground due to differing opinions on what tactics to deploy against Maurizio Sarri’s side.
The Magpies were criticised heavily for their approach to the match by some pundits and fans, with Sarri himself saying he was surprised with Benitez for taking such a defensive approach to the match.
But, Benitez played down rumours that the two have fallen out, rather it was just a case of Lascelles forwarding his opinion.
Benitez said:
All my life, I’ve liked to talk with players, so I talk with players, we decide what to do and then we stick with the plan, so everybody knows that.
If any player has different opinions, they can give their opinions and after we have to stick with the plan, that’s it. Jonjo maybe will need a couple of weeks; Jamaal, Manquillo, hopefully they can be fine for the next game.
Newcastle have made a slow start to the season and have only picked up one point from three matches.
