Man cave and fatherhood – Elanga on life at Newcastle

Anthony Elanga’s eyes light up.

The Newcastle United forward is talking about the inordinate amount of time he spends in his “man cave”.

But you won’t find a game console, stocked fridge or pool table in there.

This is Elanga’s recovery room.

“My partner won’t be too happy about it,” he said. “But she knows and appreciates it a lot.

“It’s that extra 1% I’m always trying to find. That will pay off. I’ve always told myself that.”

So much so, after completing his £55m move from Nottingham Forest last summer, and finding a home in the North East, Elanga set about kitting out his new house with a gym, hyperbaric chamber, red light therapy bed, sauna, plunge pool and, even, a 3G football pitch.

The forward works with a strength and conditioning coach, sports therapist and chef, and had a similar set-up during his time at the City Ground, where he had a hand in 18 goals during an injury-free campaign last season.

Elanga has not hit such heights for Newcastle yet, but his determination to succeed has been a constant and he put in his best performance for the club in the 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.

It has clearly been a period of huge change for Elanga on and off the field.

As well as joining a new club, the 23-year-old recently became a father for the first time.

It was the proudest moment of his life.

“Bringing Blair into this world and raising her here, it’s probably the best feeling ever,” he said.

“She’s a little Geordie who’s going to be raised in Newcastle. She’s going to have the accent as well, which is nice.

“I just can’t wait for her to be walking around and touching the football, hearing her talk, having her integrate with other kids here in Newcastle. It’s hard to describe. I wouldn’t change that feeling for the world.”

Blair’s arrival has clearly given Elanga added perspective.

It has taken the Swede – like so many before him – a little while to adapt to the intensity, structure and detail of life under Eddie Howe.

Not least during a relentless fixture schedule, where there has been little time to physically train in recent months.

Following one or two groans from the terraces, it got to the point last month where Howe said that Elanga needed to feel “safe” at St James’ Park and “free to express himself”.

The supporters responded by singing Elanga’s name and encouraging him during a brief cameo against PSV Eindhoven just a few days later.

They did so once again after he scored his first goal for the club versus Manchester City earlier this month, and after he was substituted during the victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.

No wonder Elanga took his time to come off the field after he saw his number go up.

“I made sure to walk even slower,” he smiled. “If I could have stayed there, I would have.”

It was a night where Howe received the biggest ovation of all from the away end.

The Newcastle head coach previously admitted he was not doing his job “well enough” following a bruising 3-2 defeat against Brentford last week.

It led to a lot of soul searching behind the scenes, and the players knew they had to step up.

“We always want to fight for the gaffer because we know what he has done for each and every single one of us as players,” Elanga said. “I’ve been here for seven months, but I’ve felt like he’s improved me so much.

“There are things people don’t see on the training ground, but he’s helped me so much it’s unbelievable. He was one of the reasons I wanted to come here because I knew he would improve me as a player.

That question has repeatedly been asked of this side throughout a rollercoaster campaign.

Newcastle reached a third EFL Cup semi-final in four years, are favourites to progress past Qarabag into the last 16 of the Champions League and have an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Aston Villa to look forward to on Saturday.

But Howe’s side are 10th in the Premier League for a reason.

They have won just three away games in the top-flight all season, and only relegation-threatened West Ham have dropped more points from winning positions than the Magpies (19).

Newcastle have been desperately searching for a sustained run of form – individually and collectively – and Elanga is the first to admit that he is “not where I want to be just yet”.

But the forward lives by the French saying précis pas pressé, which translates as precise not rushed.

He feels like he “couldn’t ask for a better place” to develop.

“I just want the fans to know I’m committed and the rest will naturally follow,” he said.

“Every time I pull on that shirt, there will always be heart and desire – every touch, every tackle, running back, running forward.

“They expect that from the team as well so hopefully we can continue to build, stay consistent with what we do and remain positive because if you do so, I’m sure we will be fine.”

Elanga has already come full circle at Newcastle as he prepares to return to Villa Park, the scene of his debut on the opening day.

There is a place in the FA Cup fifth round at stake and getting back to Wembley one day is a source of inspiration for Elanga after he watched on from afar as Newcastle ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the EFL Cup last season.

“I could see they were building something special,” he added. “This group is very unique.

“It’s probably one of the tightest groups I’ve ever worked with. The togetherness is unreal here. It just shows with what they did last season.