Joelinton promises one thing to Newcastle United critics in ‘difficult’ admission
Joelinton bagged a brace as Newcastle United put Bradford City to the sword in the Carabao Cup.
Joelinton has vowed that Newcastle United will always aim to play attacking football under Eddie Howe.
A lean start of the season has resulted in Newcastle coming under fire. Three of the Magpies’ opening five Premier League games have ended goalless - not a style that fans are used to in recent years.
In fairness, losing Alexander Isak - their key forward - has impacted the team’s offensive shape. Howe is aiming to bed club-record buy Nick Woltemade into the fold, with Yoane Wissa also yet to kick a ball in black-and-white stripes.
Joelinton on Newcastle United style
Speaking to the club’s media channel, Joelinton insisted Newcastle want to regain their attacking identity. The Brazilian netted twice in a 4-1 win over Bradford City to show glimpses - albeit against League One opposition - of regaining that offensive swagger.
“It (gives me) confidence, scoring two goals,” Joelinton said. “Everyone on the team, we played really good football tonight, created a lot of chances and could’ve scored more. We want to play positive football and attack as much as possible.
“The start of the season has been difficult, we haven’t created many chances. But we are playing well and I hope the confidence from today’s game can be built on.”
‘Win every game’ - Joelinton
Joelinton also declared Newcastle want to win every game after coming under fire at the weekend. Some supporters on social media suggested the Magpies were content with taking home a point at Bournemouth.
“It was a very good night for the team,” the midfielder added. “I’m really pleased to score again after a long time. Most importantly, we won the game and (we) keep going in the competition.
“We try to win every game. Today was another one where we entered the pitch with the mentality to win the game. I think we did well. On to the next one. In these games, if you don’t start well, it can be difficult. We never expect an easy opposition. We did well and are happy to go into the next round.”
Eddie Howe on Newcastle United attitude
Howe had no time for complacency or disrespect towards the opponent at the full-time whistle. The Toon boss is keen to add to last year’s Carabao Cup trophy.
"There is no difference between the games,” Howe told reporters. “These are opportunities to win trophies, and you can't just turn them away.
"So the hard rounds are the early ones. They are very difficult. Last year, we had to battle through against Wimbledon on the way to winning it; Bradford was the same. The mentality you can't switch off.
"We wanted to win and wanted to score and try to entertain everybody that came. I thought we did that, it was always going to be a difficult game, nobody wants to make anything easy for you.
“Bradford are top of their league and we needed a bit of patience in our performance but once we got into our groove we were very good. We try to pick a team that can win the next game, then same again depending on who is fresh and who might need a rest.”