Jonas: "It's honestly a pleasure to play for the fans"

Jonas Gutierrez gave us some welcome yet surprising news the other day when he committed himself to the club until 2015.

The news was both welcome and surprising as it demonstrates that the club can actually tempt current players who signed before the apparent clamp down in wages to stay at the club and has led to refreshed hope that a new deal for Captain Fabricio Coloccini could be on the cards.

Things are pretty sweet at NUFC at the moment. It's seems strange that I'm not spending my time writing about one catastrophe or another and to be honest it makes a nice change. It won't last, but at the minute results are good, performances are getting better, we sit 4th in the Premier League table and, most importantly, the team spirit that has served us so well over the last couple of years appears to be intact. Don't take my word for it however. Just listen, or read I should say, what Jonas Gutierrez has had to say today.

“The spirit which many people talked about last season, and in our promotion season, is still there and indeed, may even be stronger, and that has served us well too," Jonas told the Journal. He continued: “We have shown that in all our games this season, particularly in the two Cup ties, the game at QPR where we fought really hard for a draw and at Aston Villa where we had to come from behind."

“On Tuesday we all went paint-balling up at Slaley Hall. All the players and coaching staff went, and for some of us it was a brand new experience. And it was a super day, too. Cheick (Tioté) was the star, he was great, but it was just one of those days that everyone enjoyed."

“This team has such a good spirit, we’re all really good friends and love each other’s company. It certainly helped all the new lads settle in even more, not that they needed to really, but also those type of things just help bring fun to the team and bring everyone closer together.”

I don't think the team spirit can be denied. It's on show when we score a goal and the whole team celebrates together. It's nice to see and with that kind of atmosphere amongst the players it's no surprise that the new players seem to be settling in so quickly.

The big question mark will be when we lose a game and how we bounce back from that, but the better the team spirit is the greater the chance of us seeing a positive response from the players.

I think the fans play a massive part in things at Newcastle to be honest. At times we can be the masters of our own downfall but for the most part we are vocal in our backing of the team. This is something that is not lost on the players according to Jonas.

When asked about his new contract Jonas replied: “That is terrific for me, I am 28 now, so will have four more seasons at St James’ Park where I hope to give my best to the team, the manager and the supporters."

“Physically I am in very good condition so over the next few seasons I aim to perform to my absolute maximum potential."

“I love playing for this football club. Ever since I joined in 2008 I have felt a special bond with the city and its supporters. They are like nothing I have experienced before and it is honestly a pleasure to play for the fans."

“I think the rest of the players think that, too. I know Colo very well of course and he thinks the same, he was so proud to be made captain and in my view, I think he is playing the best football of his career – we both have a lot to thank the manager and board for.”

We seem to have a group of players who are keen to prove a point and are keen to play for the club, the fans and the city. Andy Carroll could have learnt a bit from these Frenchies and foreigners!

The start to the season has defied the critics who tipped us to struggle. I even recall the fat, lardy, kebab munching simpleton who goes by the name of Matt le Tissier tipping us for relegation. I never even contemplated that personally although by the same token I didn't expect is to be sitting 4th in the table after six games. What do the pundits know again?

Whilst the start to the season has been surprising to some on the outside, it appears that on the inside the word surprising is not the word being used at all. Demba Ba said the other day about how he wasn't surprised at the way we'd started with the players we have, and now Jonas Gutierrez has joined that particular bandwagon.

“The team has had a great start to the season and maybe has surprised a few people. As players we really believe in ourselves and so it is maybe not so much of a surprise to us that we have not lost a game yet."

"Of course we realise it is very early in the season, and there are a lot of very hard games ahead, but so far we have done well and won the games we would have expected to."

“We have a lot of talent in the squad, Yohan had done very well and the other new lads who have been brought in by the manager look very good players too. And of course having Hatem back is a great boost for us all too.”

Make no mistake, there will be tougher times ahead, but at the moment I don't think things could be much better. I mean we could have won all of our games I guess, but being realistic our start is about the best we could have hoped for. The good thing is that there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Hopefully our run can carry on a bit longer!