Miguel Almiron has broken the silence in the Newcastle United camp after the 5-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.
As Chronicle Live reported this week, there were some home truths behind the scenes as the Magpies capitulated at the hands of the Sky Bet Championship strugglers.
Club footage showed Jamaal Lascelles berating fellow defenders after standing off the Teessiders as they rattled in three first half goals.
United did not send anybody out after the defeat to speak to the wider media and have not held a weekly Press conference ahead of the game with Stoke City.
Almiron, speaking to NUFC TV, said: "I think it was a difficult result for us to take in that game.
"We were never at ease in the game, really.
"But as we all know these are friendly games and we are in the process of getting ourselves ready for the new league season.
"We need to improve in a lot of areas.
"But I don't think that we should be panicking really.
"It's more about continuing to work hard like we have been doing already so we can up our game.
"I think that performances will get better as we get more games under our belt."
Almiron was then asked how angry and disappointed the players were after the match.
He said "Yes, those kind of games can sometimes leave you feeling frustrated but like I was saying they are friendly games and as such they are useful workouts where we can discover exactly where we are up to and what we need to be looking to improve as well as seeing where we are performing well, and of course, not so well.
"I think the key is to keep a level head and keep putting in the hard work."
