Newcastle United defender Fabian Schaal has admitted he is struggling to accept that he is no longer automatically selected for the first team after losing his place in the starting XI. The Swiss defender, who has featured almost constantly over the past four years, has been relegated to the substitute bench in the last two games against Everton and Tottenham, with Dan Byrne being preferred as Malik Thiaw’s centre-back partner.
Schaal’s difficulties began when he suffered a concussion against Barcelona and missed three games. The defender played in United’s opening five games of the season, keeping three clean sheets. However, in his absence, summer signing Thiaw joined the team for £35m and put in a series of impressive performances, with the 33-year-old watching from the dugout.
Schar returned to the starting line-up for the cup game against Spurs, but was later left out again, returning for the win against Manchester City and helping to silence Erling Haaland. He played in the next game against Marseille, but was demoted to the bench for the last two games.
“It was actually pretty difficult to be on the bench,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy situation. I think I did pretty well at the beginning of the season. Then I got a concussion and missed three games, I didn’t do anything bad or bad, but it’s very difficult to get back into the team.
“It’s very difficult. It’s a new situation that we haven’t seen in the last four years. A lot of things are new and it wasn’t easy.
“I know it’s going to happen because I’m older, but I don’t want it to happen. I feel like I can still bring a lot to the team.”
“I just want to get on the pitch and do the same thing I’ve been trying to do for the last seven years and leave my heart on the pitch.”
Schar admitted that he had expressed his dissatisfaction to Eddie Howe during training, but he remains determined to take his time and fight for a place in the team.
He proved he remains an important asset after featuring and finding the back of the net in last month’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham and starting in the win over Manchester City.
“I think I showed my frustration a little bit,” he said in an interview on the club’s matchday program. “Obviously the coach knew I wasn’t happy, but I tried to stay calm and just train well. I knew I had another chance. It was just the way everything happened.”
“I was out for a few games with a concussion, so it was hard to accept that everything actually happened.
“I’m not stupid. There’s a lot of quality in the team and we’ve brought in young players. But I know I can help the team as much as I can. I can still add something to the team.”
“Then I played in the Carabao Cup and scored, so I always tried to keep a positive attitude and contribute. On the pitch, you have to work hard and get results, and I think I did that.”
