Aleksandar Mitrovic has revealed the pressure of leading the line for Newcastle United came too early for him during his career.
The Serbian international forward spent two-and-a-half seasons on Tyneside and proved to be a divisive figure at the club.
The 25-year-old scored nine goals in his first season at the club but the Magpies were relegated from the Premier League and his disciplinary issues left a lot to be desired.
When Rafa Benitez took charge of Newcastle, he quickly decided he couldn't trust Mitrovic and he fell below Dwight Gayle in the pecking order.
Mitrovic joined Fulham on loan in the winter of 2018 and made that move permanent in the summer.
The former Anderlecht star has scored 44 goals in 89 appearances for the Cottagers and while Newcastle's frontline is struggling for goals, Mitrovic is currently the Championship's top scorer.
Mitrovic has learned to deal with the burden of being the club's leading goalscorer, something that was a 'big problem' for him at Newcastle.
"If you feel down, get up. This is what life is about. My father taught me, 'After rain, the sun always comes out'," Mitrovic told Mail Online.
"I had a real rainy period at Newcastle. Now, it's really sunny. But when it's going well, this is the time to push even harder.'
"I can feel everybody looking at me [at Fulham], the way I train, the way I play. They expect me to make things happen.
"It's a new experience for me. When I came to Newcastle I was very young. The period I needed to settle in… I didn't have one.
"I was expected to play straight away and score goals, like Papiss Cisse did a few years before.
"I will always love Newcastle, but that was a big problem for me."
His disciplinary issues have calmed down, too. In fact, you may be surprised to hear the last time he was sent off was against Tottenham on the final day of the 2015/16 season.
He continued: "So I've only been sent off once since I had children?'
"You see, it's calmed me, I've matured. When I came to Newcastle, I was just a boy."
