The 23-year-old was the skipper as Rafa Benítez's side lifted the Sky Bet Championship title last term. And, on the eve of Sunday’s opening game of the season against Tottenham, Benítez has confirmed that Lascelles will keep the armband after impressing with his leadership on and off the pitch. The Newcastle manager only formally told Lascelles the news on Friday afternoon. The defender was named in the Sky Bet Championship's PFA Team of the Season and played through the pain barrier for the second half of the campaign before undergoing a double hernia operation once promotion had been assured. Benítez said: "I'm happy to keep as Jamaal as captain because he was good last season.
 "When you have new players, it's important to have someone who knows what it means to be the captain of this team, what it means to help the others to settle in and what it means to push everyone to give everything in every game. "I think he was great last season and hopefully he will continue to be a good captain for us in the future." Lascelles told NUFC TV in an exclusive interview: "It's not just on the pitch, wearing the armband - there's so much more to it. 
"I feel like I definitely have learnt a lot over the last year, how to manage players. I'm still improving, still learning and I'll keep listening as well."Watch the exclusive NUFC TV interview with Jamaal Lascelles here