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Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez tells Jonjo Shelvey to control his temper

Andre Marriner shows a red card to Jonjo Shelvey of Newcastle United
Image: Andre Marriner shows a red card to Jonjo Shelvey

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has warned Jonjo Shelvey that he must learn to control his temper if he wants to fulfil his full potential.

Shelvey is serving a three-match ban for stamping on Dele Alli in the 2-0 season opener to Tottenham leaving Benitez without a key figure.

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The Spaniard said: "He knows he made a mistake and everyone agrees with that. He is the first one that wants to change, wants to improve. We have been working on that and so is he.

"You cannot predict or prevent it, we are working on that. The situation is not what you are expecting, so you have to keep going to give the right message. At the end it depends on one second when he loses control.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - AUGUST 13:  Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur reacts leading to a red card for Jonjo Shelvey of Newcastle United (c)  during th
Image: Shelvey was sent off for an altercation with Dele Alli

"He knows. It depends on him and those around him."

Shelvey will miss the next three games, starting with Sunday's trip to Huddersfield, as a result of his red card, and there is no guarantee that he will get straight back into Benitez's team.

Rafael Benitez admits his team were not mentally ready for the Ipswich match
Image: Rafael Benitez admits his team were not mentally ready for the Ipswich match

The manager said: "If we win three games in a row, then we will not talk about team selection, we will talk about how many times we can repeat the team.

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"We will talk about the situation later. The players understand, they try to help him, but at the same time he is important and he has to behave as well."

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