Newcastle United caretaker boss Graeme Jones explained omitting Joelinton for their 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
Joelinton had started all of Steve Bruce's final five games in charge before the 60-year-old left the club by mutual consent last Wednesday.
"Joelinton has been excellent these last few weeks. He didn't deserve to be left out," Jones explained.
"I've been speaking to Joe a lot now that he's been giving us a level of performance that he's competent with and he's getting stronger, but I've said to Joe, 'We need to add goals to your game. That's where you are. You've got a good base.'
"I wanted to play a front two. I think Joe's best position is left wing in a 3-4-3 or left wing in a 4-3-3 - whatever it is. Tactically, I wanted to go with that shape so that's how Joelinton missed out."
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