Jenas can land top award says Speed

Newcastle midfielder Gary Speed is tipping team-mate Jermaine Jenas to carry off the PFA’s senior Player of the Year Award one day after seeing him honoured by his fellow professionals.

The 20-year-old beat off competition from Wayne Rooney and Newcastle colleague Craig Bellamy among others to claim the Young Player Award in London on Sunday night, but Speed is convinced he can go even further.

“He’s an excellent player, but he has one great thing in his favour,” Speed said.

“There are a lot of good young midfielders around, but JJ is a pleasant, honest lad who simply wants to get better.

“He has the perfect attitude to get right to the top. He works hard on his game on and off the pitch and these days. We just can’t keep him out of the gym.

“I don’t want to put pressure on him by saying he’ll definitely win the senior award one day because there are so many other good players around.

“He won’t be making that a personal goal because his priority is to be successful for Newcastle and England.

“He’s too much of a team man to worry about individual awards, but he certainly has the potential to become PFA Player of the Year one day.

“JJ has the agility and know-how to play anywhere across the midfield, and he’s already pushing hard to be a first-choice player for England.”

Such has been Jenas’ impact since his £5m (€7.25m) move from Nottingham Forest to St James’ Park in February last year that he has already made more than 50 senior appearances for the club.

Indeed, his form has helped offset the loss of the vastly-experienced Speed to a troublesome groin injury, and his absence for the 2-1 defeat at Fulham and the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa over Easter because of a fractured and dislocated finger came as a major blow to Sir Bobby Robson.

Jenas’ emergence as a genuine Premiership star is just reward for Newcastle’s policy of investing in youth, and chairman Freddy Shepherd is confident that he and his fellow starlets can put the club firmly in the frame to complete a hat-trick of Young Player awards next year after Bellamy blazed the trail in 2002.

“I firmly believe we can go for the hat-trick next season,” Shepherd said. “I would imagine Wayne Rooney will be in the running, but just look at the players at St James’ Park capable of pushing him all the way.

“JJ will be back in the frame and then there’s Shola Ameobi, Hugo Viana and young Darren Ambrose.

“When you look at the progress JJ has made in the last year, there’s no reason why any one of those three shouldn’t come to the fore.

“I think the decision to buy for the future has already been vindicated. The proof is in the pudding and we are now recognised as having one of the best emerging squads in British football.”

Ambrose got his first 90 minutes for the club under his belt against Middlesbrough reserves last night after making his debut – and scoring – against Manchester United’s second string last week.

Lomana LuaLua, who will hope to force his way into the first-team picture in the remaining two games of the season with skipper Alan Shearer out injured, scored a superb solo goal but could not prevent his side slipping to a 4-2 defeat at the Riverside Stadium.