Newcastle United’s coaching staff have been trying to get Joelinton to be more selfish and to get into the right areas to score – and Steve Bruce hopes the break from football has given the club’s record signing the chance to reflect.
Steve Bruce said “Joe has found it difficult – there is no question about that – in terms of adapting to life in England. If anyone suffered in lockdown…all his family have gone back to Brazil and he’s stuck in a flat with practically no one but he’s a determined so and so and he’s as tough as they come, He trains well every day. I hope this time has given him time to reflect about what it is to be a player in the Premier League and what it is to be Newcastle’s No 9. He wants to do well. He tries like a beast in training every day. We have to improve him and his mentality of being a goalscorer. He’s more of a team player. Goalscorers who I played with in the past were only ever happy if they scored a goal. If they didn’t score a goal, no matter how good the team’s played, they’re not happy. I think we have to get that mentality into Joe to be a bit more selfish and get himself in the right areas to score. That’s something that we’ve been trying to put in place now in the last few weeks since we’ve been back. Let’s hope now the break has done him a bit of good to reflect on life in England, life in the Premier League and what it’s like to have a big price tag on your head as Newcastle’s No 9..”
Joelington did score the third goal for Newcastle in their 3-0 win over Sheffield United and was impressive throughout the match.
