Friday 23 February 2018 17:22, UK
Jonjo Shelvey has told Sky Sports in a revealing interview how a "little book" given to him from his psychologist has helped him "massively", why he's not "a little kid anymore", why his performance against Manchester United was not his best of the season, and why his opening-day display against Tottenham was similar to a 'car crash'.
The Newcastle midfielder was sent off against Spurs for stamping on Dele Alli and was also dismissed against Everton in December. However, he has responded well to the setbacks and was the man of the match as the Magpies beat Manchester United at St James' Park in their last game.
Ahead of Newcastle's trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, Shelvey has been speaking about a range of topics, from his performances this season to the club's takeover and how he knew early on that he had won the midfield battle against United…
"It was a great result and you just want another game to come in the next three or four days, but it's been a long two weeks and a lot of training and we are itching to get back out there and replicate that performance.
"We got in their faces from the word go and didn't give them any time or space on the ball. I remember thinking to myself in the first 10 minutes that they had kicked the ball off the pitch a few times through pressure and I thought 'we've got them here'. Obviously it took a bit longer to get a goal but luckily we did and we held out.
"It doesn't matter who you play against in midfield, you need to try to come out on top and more often than not when a team wins a midfield battle they normally have a good chance of winning the game because that's where a lot of the play goes through. It was nice to do it against those sort of players but it doesn't matter if you don't go and do it against Bournemouth.
"I wouldn't say it's the best I have played this season. People are probably buzzing because they have seen I made a couple of tackles and I probably don't do a lot of that because I'm more of a ball-playing midfielder. You need to add that to your game and that's something I want to try to do, but that's where I think the plaudits have come from. It wasn't so much on the ball because we didn't have a lot of the ball."
"It's been up and down personally. The first game was a write-off, like when you smash your car up. I still don't know why I did it to this day. We were in control of the game and I lost us that game and I have never come out and said sorry publicly because I have said sorry to the people that need to be said sorry to. It's just in the past and I am trying to kick on from here.
I am coming up to 26 now so I'm not a little kid anymore and I need to keep progressing
"I got back into the team and started doing well, then the Everton game happened where I had to bring him [Idrissa Gueye] down otherwise he's going through on goal, but I bounced back from that and feel since I have been back in the team I have been playing well and getting that consistency in my game and that's one thing I need.
"I am coming up to 26 now so I'm not a little kid anymore and I need to keep progressing. I am probably one of the oldest players in the team and in terms of experience playing in the Premier League, so I need to use that and show I am good enough to be here.
"I meet up with him probably twice or three times a month and just go through little bits and bobs. It's never a long chat or anything like that, it's just to keep ticking over and see where I am at mentally. It makes you look at life in a different way and puts you in other people's situations so you take a step back, which is probably what I have needed. I started working with him towards the back end of last year and it's helped me massively.
"He bought me a little book and after every training session and game you write a few things down and what you have done good and bad. I'd take it to the golf course and when you hit a bad shot or relive every hole…It's for everyday life and your hand starts to hurt after a while from writing so much! It's good to flick back through and have a read. It's always refreshing your memory of what you can improve on and what you are doing well.
"With so many training sessions you forget what you have done when you look back at the end of the week so you have the little book and write the date down and there you go. I go straight indoors and do it straight away so it's done and then you can enjoy the rest of the day. It's a good practice to have."
When I go over the white line I just want to win. I'm a winner and I've had that instilled in me since I was a kid and sometimes it goes over the edge. It's about controlling that.
"I couldn't care less what people have got to say as long as I have the backing from the people that matter - the gaffer, family, and my team-mates - and they know what I am like as a person on and off the pitch. That's all that matters.
"Most of the people here would probably say I am one of the most laid-back people here but when I go over the white line I just want to win. I'm a winner and I've had that instilled in me since I was a kid and sometimes it goes over the edge. It's about controlling that and I feel I have done that since I have been back from the Everton game."
"We are professional players and you read things in the media that the takeover might be happening or it might not happening. Even when you get stopped by fans in supermarkets and things they ask you if it's happening and you say 'I know just as much as you'. You don't really pay attention to it and the main thing we are working towards is to guarantee safety as soon as possible so the last few weeks are not as tense as they can be and we have experienced in the past. That's the main thing in the changing room.
"There's a good atmosphere around the training ground. We don't really listen to what goes on behind the scenes. We have a good group in the changing room and we are all pulling in the same direction. Everyone in there wants to be there and the competition on the training pitch is very intense and probably boils over sometimes but that win over Man Utd has given everyone around the place a buzz and made us realise that we can mix it up with the big boys as well."
"We need to stay in the game. They will come out of the traps quickly because they always do and they beat us here late on and we probably owe them one for that. It will be an interesting game and every game from now until the end of the season against teams in the bottom half are all crucial. This weekend a lot of the teams are playing each other so it's going to be interesting come Saturday evening what the table looks like."
Watch the interview with Shelvey on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports from midday
