Newcastle United midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has revealed his frustration and heartbreak at being left on the sidelines for much of the season.
The English maestro has not been seen as often as the Toon Army might have wanted or expected heading into the current campaign, with just 17 appearances under his belt across all competitions.
His absence has been down to injury and the form of others and the six-cap England international has admitted that despite the fans’ kind messages in person, he has been at a real low.
He told the Chronicle: “All the stuff that you read on Twitter and people saying you have no future here is one thing. But when I see fans in the city and at the ground, the fans are nothing but nice to me.
“I can’t fault them. They have always said they want me to play and things like that. Until they stop saying that and while this club is paying my wages, I will continue to give it everything I’ve got for this football club.”
“Don’t get me wrong I have been very, very down because you want to play football. You can take all the money away because at the end of the day all you want to do is play football. There’s nothing worse than a footballer training all week and then not playing at the end of it.
“It hurts you. You see the lads smiling and running around and you don’t feel part of it. You have to stick by it and stick with the team and eventually your time will come.”
Opinion
An honest and frank assessment of Shelvey’s season from the man himself. He will not have been the only one frustrated about the state of his campaign, with manager Rafael Benitez and the whole of the Toon Army wishing he was fit and firing at his very best. Still, he has a couple of games left to prove his worth at St James’ Park and give those watching on a taste of what he can do if he remains on Tyneside this summer. He appears not to be fully trusted by Benitez and maybe his time at the club will come to an end in the transfer window. If that is the case then it will very much be what could have been for the England international. He has shown glimpses of his exceptional talent in the midfield but never consistently enough. This is his time to demonstrate he can be an integral part of Newcastle’s future – but the clock is ticking and time is not on his side.