The young midfielder is likely to be part of the Magpies’ Under-23s side who take on West Ham United in the Premier League 2 Division Two play-off final at St. James’ Park on Tuesday night (7pm kick-off).
Barlaser has been a regular for Peter Beardsley’s second string this term, and also made his debut for Rafa Benitez’s Championship title-winning first team, playing in the FA Cup ties against Birmingham City and Oxford United in January.
And the 20-year-old says that helping United to a promotion double would be the ideal way to round off an unforgettable campaign.
“To get two appearances for the first team, I’d have snapped your hand off,” he told nufc.co.uk. “To have done that, for Newcastle to go up, and then if we can go up it’d just top off an unbelievable season for me.”
United’s Under-23s began the season with an impressive 3-0 win at Norwich City, before suffering 3-1 and 4-0 defeats at West Ham and Aston Villa respectively.
Barlaser feels that over the course of the league season, Beardsley’s youngsters have developed their ability to “grind out” results after their tough start on the road.
“We won 3-0 against Norwich on the first day, and the way we played that first game was unbelievable and I was thinking we could get somewhere. But the week after, we got beat and I was thinking this could be a mid-table season again,” he said.
“I think in some games this season, we haven’t played well but we’ve just ground results out, which is why we’ve got in this position. I think we deserve to be in this position.
“We’ve had a couple of poor results, but after that we started getting back to our normal ways and playing good football, and we got a couple of good wins which got us to third place and the play offs.”
He added: “Not last year but the year before, we were top of the league by Christmas, but we didn’t even get into the play-offs. It can change really quickly, but this year, I think we’ve done the opposite. We’ve started off average and built on it towards the end of the season, so its probably been the best season I’ve been here for. “We’ve had the same type of team every game, whereas last year and the year before was a bit more mix and match, and I think that’s really helped us. Playing with the same players week-in week-out helps us know what we’re doing every day and every week, and that’s helped us get in this position.”
Tuesday night will be the fourth time the Magpies have met the Hammers this season, with two Premier League 2 Division Two fixtures and one Premier League Cup tie already having been played.
And Barlaser is hoping that home advantage will aid his team in the all-important play-off final, as United bid to make sure of their place in Division One for 2017/18.
“Talking to the lads, I don’t think we’ve been beaten at St. James’ this year, which is really good for us. Going into the game on Tuesday, playing at St. James’ again, West Ham haven’t beaten us at home, which is also good for us," he said.
“I think a lot of teams are quite nervous to come and play us away. We press them high, play good football, and it’s hard for teams to stop. That’s why we’ve been so successful this season.
“We’ve played them twice now, and we know what to expect. They’ll be playing long balls into a tall forward and they’ll be playing with the wingers because they’re really quick and good on the ball – they’re like us, a good possession team.
“It’ll be a really good game on Tuesday, but I think we’ll come out victorious.”
Entry to the game will be free for all Magpies season ticket holders and members. Tickets will be available at the East Stand turnstiles, priced at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
