Jonjo Shelvey says England are 'crying out' for a midfielder like him but fears his face no longer fits in a 'fickle' age where image can trump ability.

To that end, the Newcastle playmaker continues to protest his innocence over the verdict of an FA panel who last year found him guilty of racially abusing Wolves player Romain Saiss.

Shelvey was banned for five matches and fined £100,000 after it was claimed he called the Moroccan a 'smelly Arab'.

Jonjo Shelvey has set his sights on an England re-call when he returns to the Premier League

The 25-year-old believes England are 'crying out' for a central midfielder like him

The 25-year-old has kept quiet on the controversy until now and hopes negative headlines have not prevented him from adding to his six England caps.

'If you look at the competition, we're crying out for a central midfielder for our country, in my opinion,' says Shelvey.

'But it's just a matter of saying the right things in the press and things like that, that's what it goes on these days. It's so fickle, if you like.

'All I can do is just show in my performances that I warrant a place in the England team.'

Were there any lessons to be learned, then, from the travails of the racism row? 'No, because I didn't say what it was printed out to be,' he returns.

'If it was in any court of law, I would have been found not guilty. It just goes on the panel's verdict. You just have to deal with it and get on with it.

Shelvey believes that he has the wrong image to win back an England place

'I'm not going to sit around and cry about things. It's gutting when you don't get picked (for England) or nasty things are said about you, but that's life - it's about how you deal with it.'

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez and the club stuck by their £12million man and he returned to lead the team to promotion.

'It could have gone either way with the club,' said Shelvey. 'They could have thrown me by the wayside but they stuck by me, they believed in me and I feel like I repaid them with my performances.

'The manager obviously thinks enough of me to keep me at the club and play me, so the main thing I need to do now is to repay him.'

There is a reason Shelvey has looked sharper than any of his team-mates here at the club's Carton House training base in County Kildare this week.

The former Liverpool and Swansea midfielder is keen to add to his six international caps

Manager Rafa Benitez stuck by Shelvey after the club's Premier League relegation in 2016

Just like he did last summer, he began pre-season preparations one month ahead of schedule, even if that did mean juggling a family holiday with intensive gym sessions on a Disney cruise.

After that it was three weeks in Portugal where afternoon workouts were bookended by 5km runs. 'If I had any hair I would have been pulling it out, I wanted to be back training,' he laughs.

The motivation behind his close-season regime came 12 months ago when he took stock of where his career was heading. Signed by Steve McClaren in the January, he finished the season under Benitez unable to get a game in a relegated side.

'I went away that summer and that's when I really dug in, because it could have gone either way,' said Shelvey, speaking at the launch of the club's new third kit in Dublin.

'If you are not playing at a club in the Championship when you have been playing for England, you think that it is just going to go downhill from there.

Shelvey is determined to make the most of his return to Premier League football this season

'I didn't start the first game of the season and I started to doubt my ability. But then I got the chance to play and I haven't looked back since.

'It's not only that, it's enjoyable to live in Newcastle. It's a lovely city, the people are friendly and they worship the ground you walk on.

'With this support, and for this big a club - I don't think people realise how big a club this actually is - if you can't go out there and perform then there is something wrong with you.'