Harvey Barnes has been issued with a plea for patience form Eddie Howe after finding himself benched in recent games.
Barnes' omission from the starting line-up comes despite his place as second top scorer at Newcastle United with four goals to his name but he is not interested in the role of "impact sub". The left winger was signed for £38million from Leicester City but starting the one-time England international means switching Anthony Gordon to the right-hand side of Howe's attack.
To complicate matters even more for Barnes, he is now trying to fight his way back into a team which has Joelinton playing his best stuff for weeks, with the Brazilian scoring a wonderful goal in the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest. Barnes has been told to keep working and maintain his positive attitude, something he underlined on the banks of the Trent with a goal from the bench - his sixth as a sub for Newcastle!
Howe said: "You need your substitutes to impact the game positively. That is not always a given. You need good people who respect they are not starting but then come on with the attitude to come on and make a positive difference for the team. I think we had that at Forest, we have top players, who came in with the right attitude and helped us win."
"Harvey is an outstanding player. Trying to find room for him in the team is something that I am conscious of. I'm really pleased he got that goal - I thought it was a fantastic finish."
Barnes knows that he must simply keep his head down and keep battling but that doesn't mean he is content with a role on the fringes of the team. Speaking after scoring his fourth of the season, and his ninth Newcastle goal since joining the club, Barnes told reporters at the City Ground: "I want to play every game from the beginning. When you are not playing I am always going to be disappointed.
"But I always believe I am somebody who is going to use that in the right way and when I do come on the pitch I will help the team and show what I can do. I did that at Forest and it is what I will always try to do. But of course, I am a player who feels like I should be starting and I have a lot give the team.
"You can praise the manager for bringing you on and helping the team get three points but you are also using it as a shop window to start games."
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