Jamaal Lascelles hails Newcastle United's team spirit

Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles has insisted that his side have a "different mentality" this season after grinding out a third win in succession.

The Magpies earned a 2-1 victory over Stoke City at St James' Park on Saturday thanks to Lascelles's winner, doing so after being pegged back to 1-1 earlier in the match.

It is the first time since November 2014 that Newcastle have achieved the feat of three successive Prem wins, which the skipper believes is down to an altered mindset and strong team togetherness, epitomised by the fighting spirit shown after Joselu missed a string of openings.

"He knows he should have scored a couple, but good teammates get each other out of the shit," The Times quotes him as saying. "Back then, heads would have dropped.

"We'd be looking around asking, 'Who's going to step up?' It's not like that now. We're completely different players with a different mentality.

"Our inexperience is a strength. It gives us a big advantage in terms of our energy, which really counts when we play against teams who are older."

Lascelles has now scored in back-to-back games, having also bagged the winner against Swansea City a week beforehand.