Mo Diame says he is hoping the international break does not put to an end his run of good form.
The Senegalese midfielder retired from international football last year, and will be keenly anticipating the club`s next league game against Huddersfield at the end of the month. Speaking to the Chronicle, he said he was enjoying his football during his extended run in the side:
‘When you`re in good form, you want to keep going, and the break can be a bad thing. It`s good to keep going and play game after game and training after training and keep the same attitude and the high fitness.
‘I`m enjoying it a lot. It`s what I wanted to since the beginning, but unfortunately, it couldn`t happen, so now I`m trying to enjoy it a lot better. I need to make sure that I stay at a high level.’
Here is some of the Twitter reaction to Diame`s form:
I’ve had the privilege of watching Messi on many an occasion and Mo Diame is now falling into the same bracket.
? Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) 17 March 2018
Diame has been good. But only since he`s been moved to that more central midfield role. He`s awful as that no.10 role. But he does do well with Shelvey.
? STM? (@TheRealSTM) 22 March 2018
Spot on Al, it`s an absolute privilege to watch Mo Diame play football.
? Ryan (@RyMorris95) 14 March 2018
Mad to think a few months ago we wouldn’t want Diame or Dummet anywhere near the team, now they’re the first names on the team sheet! #NUFC
? The Magpie Channel (@MagpieChannel) 14 March 2018
Mo Diame was stopped at Newcastle airport security on the way to Spain yesterday. Asked to empty his pockets at the security check, officers were shocked to find a number of premier league midfielders stuck in there, including Paul Pogba & Mario Lemina.
? Paul White Photo (@PaulWhitePhoto) 15 March 2018
Diame is just behind Lascelles for our player of the season for me.
And taking into consideration he wad garbage from August to November….that’s REALLY saying something.
THAT’S how good he has been.#NUFC
? Burnsie NUFC (@BenArfaChance) 11 March 2018
Also Diamé – finally got over his poor form and playing exceptionally. Proved me wrong, looks like the bargain we thought we had #nufc
? Ali Perros (@Ali_Perros) 11 March 2018
Remember when every #NUFC fan would cry when diame started in the heart of midfield
? Cieran (@TUSEagle) 11 March 2018
Watching MOTD & just watching Diame .. 1st half of the season he was all over the place but now he has turned things around! Our 2 main players this season is him and Lascelles! #nufc
? Jordon (@greggas90) 11 March 2018
Shelvey grabs all the headlines with his incisive passing. But Diame has been a revelation for #nufc in CM. Tackling, harrying getting in faces. Outstanding. https://t.co/F84EGovcio
? oldramma (@ramsey_ian) 11 March 2018
New contract for Mo Diame? #nufc
? Michael Martin (@tfMichael1892) 11 March 2018
Verdict:
It`s fair to say that up until recently Mo`s time at the club hadn`t been particularly memorable. He struggled for form during his first season with us following his switch from Hull, and that continued into his season. However, in the last few months he has become one of our top performers.
It has certainly come as a surprise to me, and many others, that the 30 year old has turned his Magpies career so quickly. He has struck up a good partnership with Jonjo in the middle of the park, and let`s hope we see the same level of consistency in his game between now and the end of the season.