Jamaal Lascelles may now have to get comfortable on the Newcastle bench

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Newcastle United picked up a good point at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with West Ham United.

The Magpies were unable to make it four straight wins, but managed to hold the Champions League-chasing Irons at the London Stadium.

Craig Dawson gave the hosts the lead with a header from a free-kick.

But Newcastle showed character to hit back, with Joe Willock popping up to score his first goal of the season.

He capitalised on a poor clearance from Declan Rice, applying a cute finish on the volley from a tight angle.

In the end, it was a decent result for Newcastle, with West Ham obviously a tricky opponent these days under David Moyes.

They have several threats in their side, with Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio particularly dangerous.

Newcastle needed to be at their best defensively. And it was a pretty solid showing from the Magpies, with Dan Burn and Fabian Schar once again stepping up.

Eddie Howe decided to go with the duo after their fine displays against Aston Villa.

Jamaal Lascelles had to settle for a place on the bench, after missing the win over Steven Gerrard’s side through illness.

The 28-year-old was going to come on as a substitute for the injured Emil Krafth right at the every end. But in the end there was no time for him to get on.

It’s going to be interesting to see if Howe opts to being Lascelles back for the game against Brentford.

It’s possible he may now have to get comfortable on the bench.

Lascelles’ illness may have cost him his Newcastle starting berth

So Schar and Burn have starred together for the second game in a row.

While that is obviously great, it is not so good for Lascelles’ personal hopes of getting back into the starting XI.

Howe decided to go with the pair again after their performances against Villa. And they again justified their selections against the Hammers. It was a bold call from the manager, given how good Lascelles was against Everton and Leeds United.

Awkwardly for Lascelles, new signing Burn is showing himself to be a real leader as well as a great defender.

So it is not as though leadership is missing with Lascelles sitting on the bench.

And then Schar is generally a better defender. So it might well be that Lascelles now has to get used to the bench.