Andros Townsend wants to prove a £12million price tag Newcastle paid


Andros Townsend wants to prove a £12million bargain for Newcastle – and forget all his torment at Tottenham.
The England winger admits the big price-tag means he will have to be better than ever to match his Newcastle transfer fee.
But Townsend says he had to move on from Tottenham and play ­regularly – because it is almost two years since he completed 90 minutes in the Premier League.
He said: “Of course, £12m is a lot of money, I know that.
“But, if I can reach my potential and play to the ability I know I have, I am sure, as quickly as people are saying it is a lot of money, they will be saying it is a bargain.
“If I put in a few good ­performances, it will look like money well spent.”
Coach Mauricio ­Pochettino had banished Townsend to the U21s for the last two months.
But he said: “I hold no grudges with the manager. He has a 35-man squad, 11 play, seven on the bench. He has no problem with me on a personal level. He made his ­decision ­professionally, which, obviously, I do not agree with.
“But Tottenham are flying high, I can’t argue with him. He had a decision to make and, at the moment, it is working out best for Spurs.”
Asked about his row with Spurs’ fitness coach Nathan Gardiner in November, which saw him fined, he said: “There was an incident, but the next time I saw him, we laughed about it and shook hands.
“The club disciplined me and, after a week, I was training with the first team and on the bench again. I don’t think that had any bearing on my exclusion from the first team squad for the last three or four months.”
His mission now is to help rescue third-bottom Newcastle’s season, as one of £78m worth of new players who have been bought for Steve McClaren.
He said: “It is not going to be easy. But look around the dressing room and look at the players added during the transfer window – it has got to fill you with confidence.”
Townsend got a 10-minute video from McClaren, outlining his new role in the side, and said: “I never said I’m a striker. But I can play on either wing.
“The manager has shown me clips of me out of possession, running back, helping the full-back, taking full- backs on, getting in crosses, shots, scoring goals.
“It filled me with huge ­confidence to know I have a manager who has huge faith in me – and belief in my ability.”

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