Newcastle Captain Takes Swipe at Man Utd's Desire Following Morale Boosting Win

Jamaal Lascelles has appeared to take a dig at Manchester United following their narrow 1-0 victoryover the Red Devils on Sunday.

A second-half goal from Matt Ritchie proved to be enough to keep all three points at St James' Park and help push Newcastle clear of the relegation places in the Premier League table.

After the game, Newcastle's 24-year-old captain drew on comparisons from United's Manchester rivals, as well as Arsenal, to claim that José Mourinho's side didn't have the quality to match the Magpies' desire to win.

"I don’t think United turned up today," Lascelles said, quoted by the Independent. "When you play against Arsenal and Manchester City, you can really see their quality. One mistake or a lack of concentration, and a goal will go in. Today, we just wanted it a lot more."

Hearing Lascelles talk about the quality of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is no surprise, but his decision to talk up Arsenal - who recently lost 3-1 to Swansea and sit well clear of the Champions League places - shows just how much Manchester United were off the pace on Sunday.

Newcastle now sit level on points with Brighton in the league table, with the likes of Southampton, Stoke and West Brom all languishing bellow them heading into the final stretch of the Premier League campaign.