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It is never normally a good sign when an interviewee introduces himself by saying he’s tired.

But sat in an office at Newcastle United’s training base, blinking into the autumn sun and rubbing sleep from his eyes, the Magpies’ new cult hero in the making Joselu is not being impolite. It is two days after his goal against Liverpool earned Newcastle a creditable point at St James’ Park and the stats he has just run through with United’s analysts tell their own story.

Forraging on scraps in a lone striker’s role, Joselu covered five and half miles – largely without the ball – in 79 minutes and made 40 sprints according the stats provided for him by Newcastle’s meticulous coaching staff. More than that, though, he poured everything he had into a game that illustrated perfectly what Rafa Benitez’s Premier League plan is: work hard, stay disciplined and sweat the inches.

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It is a philosophy that Joselu – recruited by Rafa Benitez because he knew the striker would fit into his re-modelled Premier League system – has been happy to sign up to.

“Since I joined Newcastle I have had so many more supporters coming up to me on the streets than at any of my previous clubs. This is a big club and you can feel how the supporters love their club – but the one thing the supporters say is ‘Thank you for working hard for the club’.

“I feel the love of the supporters and it pulls you on during the games. If you’re tired you hear the supporters cheers or their voices in your head and think ‘I will go again’.

“I have had people stop me and say ‘Thank you’ which is amazing to hear. They say we want players who work hard and I love hearing this. I work hard every week, in every training session to do my best on the pitch and at the weekend.

“If I score, that’s great but if it doesn’t work out with the goals then I will work hard to make sure it works well for other players in the team.”

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

He has other mitigation for exhaustion. Joselu has a new baby Leo and the adrenaline that coursed through his veins after levelling Phillipe Coutinho’s goal, he admits, has left him drained for two days.

You only have to look at the picture of him celebrating the strike to see that he is not exaggerating. In one he is wheeling away from the Leazes, eyes screwed shut, his face contorted in a primal scream of joy after seeing his somewhat fortuitous finish nestle in the back of Simon Mignolet’s net.

Asked what it felt like, his eyes light up. Suddenly fatigue is the last thing on his mind as he explains: “That is a moment you can’t describe. When you are score and you’re a striker, you’re always happy to score a goal but the noise during this game was incredible. I could hear the cheer.

“Also when you an important goal to take a point or three and against a big team like Liverpool, it’s important. I felt super emotional because I know I had a couple of big chances in the last few games but football is like that. You maybe miss a chance and then you score maybe five goals in the next three weeks. Football is crazy - we love it because of this.

“When I score, I tried to shoot and the ball touched my leg and went into the corner. I felt ‘Yes! I need this’. It was very important for me and the team and the fans. We know when we play at home we have one player more than the opposition.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

“It is like when we saw the message for the manager in Spanish. You think ‘Wow, they are amazing’. All the fans are with us and when you go and run and put it in a tackle, you touch the ball and the goes out. It is Liverpool’s ball but it doesn’t matter: the fans go crazy and they go up as one. This gives you power.

“I love the atmosphere and the feeling at Newcastle.”

There was a personal feeling of triumph too. After missing chances in previous games, Joselu admits he “needed” the goal – although his confidence had not been affected by missed opportunities against Stoke or Brighton.

“I know I will score and I know I will miss chances. It is football. I don’t think about the (missed) chances. The good thing is I try to work hard every week to try to do my best every weekend and the results are there. We have 10 points now, it’s a good start to the season.

“We know we lost points against teams but football is like this. We try to win every game, work hard and take the points here and away. Football is football and now we have time to rest and think about the next game, which is away from home.

“When the referee blows the whistle and the 90 minutes are over, they are over. You need to think about a new week. It’s normal that on the same day you think about the chances but the best thing is as soon as you’re finished with that match you have a chance in the next one.

“Against Stoke I know I missed two good opportunities but after this I try to think about the next game and trying to win the next game.”

Having struggled to find a place at Stoke, Joselu feels at home at Newcastle. Much of that is down to the way the manager and his teammates have integrated him quickly.

He was added to the Whatsapp group quickly – although he hasn’t yet dare steal the dressing room stereo to put his favoured raggaeton on – and Benitez made sure he was part of the plans in double-quick time too.

Joselu said: “Rafa’s perfect. It’s a lot different from when I was at Stoke. We train every day, we focus on the game at the weekend and every day is different. Rafa talks to us every minute and he wants every player to know their work for the weekend. He will say to every player individually ‘You do this’, ‘You do this’. Working with Rafa is perfect for me and all the players because he’s a perfect manager.

“He knew me really well when he approached me to sign for Newcastle. He talked with me, he called me and he told me about Newcastle and the club. He integrated me quickly – in the club, in the team and in the city too.

“It’s very important for new players to feel like this. This is home: everyone is so friendly and helpful, even with my wife at the stadium, helping out with the baby. It feels like a family.”