Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles wants the Magpies to play on the ‘front foot’ when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Saturday.
Rafa Benitez has been accused on a number of occasions this season of adopting a defensive mentality when Newcastle have encountered sides from the top-six, but the victory over Manchester United earlier this month signalled an uncharacteristic change in approach from the pragmatic Spaniard.
A shift to a more attacking style has earned United four points from a possible six in their last two matches, although there was a feeling that Newcastle had dropped points after conceding two late goals to draw at Bournemouth at the weekend.
Despite that setback, Lascelles insists the Newcastle squad is full of confidence ahead of the trip to Merseyside and wants Benitez to stick with the offensive mentality that has yielded such positive rewards recently.
“We’ll be working hard in the next few days and focusing our preparation for the game,” The Magpies skipper told the Northern Echo. “It’s a tough game, but I definitely think we can beat them.
“Okay, we were quite disappointed with the result the other day (at Bournemouth), but the way we’ve been playing against Man United and Bournemouth, our confidence is really high. We’re going to be on the front foot against Liverpool.”
Newcastle drew 1-1 with Liverpool in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park in October, while Benitez’s side fought back from two goals down to snatch a draw on their last visit to Anfield in April 2016.
