Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has insisted that Mason Mount is far from a “teacher’s pet”.
Gareth Southgate has similarly had to defend the midfielder against criticism over his role within the England set up.
But amid criticism from the outside - notably on social media - both bosses continue to place their trust and faith in the 21 year-old.
And Mount’s interaction with teammate Timo Werner during the Blues’ win over Newcastle shows the edge and willingness to demand the most from those around him, which makes him a key on-field lieutenant to both men.
With Chelsea dominating at St James’ Park early on, the German let a couple of fine opportunities pass him by.
And one of those, in the 30th minute, saw Mount call on Werner to be more demanding of himself, as he dragged a low strike wide.
“I said to Timo in the first half, ‘That’s a goal for you, you need to score them’ because I’ve seen them go in day-in and day-out in training,” said Mount.
“He’s a top player and he needs to be harsh on himself to score those.
"He knows that and, if it comes next week, he’ll put it away.”
Mount is also more than willing to direct such demands inwards too, as he bids to ensure that Lampard’s men are vying for trophies when the season reaches its conclusion.
“I was disappointed with my one as well because I feel I should be scoring those. We’re all tough on each other and tough on ourselves because we want to be pushing to get number one.
“We need to have that in the group where if someone doesn’t score or makes a mistake, we can tell them. Chelsea teams in the past had that in their group and we need the same in our group.
“If we do, we’ll have a top chance of winning trophies.”
Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners in the end, thanks to a Federico Fernandez own goal and a second-half effort from Tammy Abraham.
That leaves them two points off the top, but Mount insists: “We’re building momentum but we can’t get too carried away.
“We just need to keep focussing on winning games, scoring goals and trying to keep as many clean sheets as we can.”
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