'I believe' - Anthony Elanga makes bold Newcastle United claim ahead of Nottingham Forest reunion

Anthony Elanga admits he’s got plenty of friends in the Nottingham Forest camp - but he’ll be doing them zero favours as he wants to kick on with Newcastle United.

Elanga has endured a patchy start to life on Tyneside, not only when it comes to results, but also his own performances. But having dazzled in the Champions League in the week, and with his old club in town, he knows it’s time to knuckle down and get points on board in the Premier League.

“It's going to be a great game. I’ve obviously got a few friends there and they've got a new coach. It's not going to be an easy game, but with the belief we've got in the team right now and the confidence, let's just build on this and keep the momentum going,” he said.

“I still speak to them every day because they're still my mates. But when it comes to the game then I'll just lock into that and focus on my team.

“100 per cent great memories from there. But they've got a new manager now and it's not going to be easy. But I believe in this team and hopefully we can keep that going.”

Anthony Elanga’s best NUFC performance

Elanga was, of course, the star of the show in Belgium, picking up the player of the match award from UEFA officials. Regular watchers, including this one, would say he was better against Barcelona, but it matters little.

Elanga said: “I was really pleased with the performance. We owe it to the fans. We've not had the best of starts to the season, but this is going to help us build momentum and we need to keep this going and let our football do the talking and just focus on the next game.

“The win was much, much needed, especially with the way we played and the amount of goals we scored. So let's build on this and just focus on the next game.”

Elanga and two-goal Anthony Gordon linked up brilliantly with Nick Woltemade on the continent, and it’ll be interesting to see if Eddie Howe goes with the same trio again.

“We've been training with each other. It's the first time we've played with each other, so it's important to build a relationship, whether it's me playing or it could be Harvey Barnes or anyone.

“It's important to build that momentum and we played a good game on Wednesday - everyone from top to bottom. It's important we build on this and just keep it going. Let's not make this a one-off game. Let's carry this on in the league and in the cups and in the Champions League again.

“It's nice [playing with Woltemade] because he's someone that you can link up with really well and I know if I play to him first time, he can play me in behind or I can play to him and come off to the line.

“It's about mixing my game up and that's what I did on Thursday, trying to come inside, trying to go outside. It's something I want to keep on working on and I've got the perfect team to be able to develop and improve and become even better as a player and as a person.”

Elanga: ‘Momentum is important’

Never mind old rivalries, the Magpies are in desperate need of points. They have won just one of their previous six in the Premier League this season, eight stretching back to the back end of last.

Elanga, reflecting on the first months of the campaign, said: “We've been unlucky. We've had loads of opportunities to win games and we've just not had that finishing edge. But we're starting to build that momentum and it's important to keep that going and hopefully we can on Sunday.

“It's important [to get points on the board]. Getting a win and building momentum. I keep saying momentum because it is important.

“We need to keep on scoring goals. We did and we had a fluidity in attack. It was brilliant from everyone, even the lads that came off the bench.

“So it’s important to build momentum and win the game.”