ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC has insisted that he has curbed the aggressive side to his game after falling foul of Premier League referees since his summer move to Newcastle United.

The £13million signing from Anderlecht carries a hot-headed reputation, and was booked moments into his Magpies debut after coming on as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Southampton on the opening day, and again in the 2-0 defeat to Swansea.

But after coming through 80 minutes against Manchester United on Saturday, the Serbian striker admitted that his first games for the club have represented a steep learning curve.

“I spoke to the coaches and they told me you need to work but you need to think about every situation,” said the 20-year-old, who hopes to be involved in tonight’s Capital One Cup second round fixture at home to Northampton Town. “They are right. I need to work hard for the team but I also need to stay calm. I learnt a real lot from my first two games.

“It was my first game for Newcastle from the beginning at Old Trafford and I felt good. It was a long time since I’d played a game from the beginning but I really felt good. It was a good 80 minutes for me. By the end, I felt a little tired, but that’s okay.”

Mitrovic led the line and rattled the crossbar as Newcastle put in their best performance of the season against Louis Van Gaal’s United, and the forward, who scored 36 goals in his two years in Belgium, hopes to be on the scoresheet sooner rather than later.

“When I spoke to the team before the game I was really excited, because it was my first game from the beginning and it was against Manchester United,” Mitrovic said. “It was a good feeling.

“I gave everything on Saturday and I expect I will soon start to score goals.

“I didn’t have a lot of service but the balls I got were very good and I almost scored a goal. In the next games I hope I will have more service of the same quality.

“It was a difficult game for me because we played defensively so I did not get the ball so much. But you can’t only play defensively, you need to play as a team and we did that well. “We had our chances and we deserved the good result we got.

“A big point against a big club is always important, especially when you play good and like a team. We were really good as a team and I think this point will help us a lot in the future.

“The next game is against Arsenal and this is also a big game, so it is good for confidence that we have got this point for the team and the players.”

Florian Thauvin made his Magpies debut having completed a £12m signing from Marseilles last week, and Mitrovic was impressed with the Frenchman’s performance.

Mitrovic said: “He did really well on his debut. He was fresh (when he came on) and he made a difference. He made the (opposition) defenders feel tired. I think he’s a really good player, his left leg is really good and he can be really important for us. I hope he will be in the team for the next game.

Steve McClaren, who won the League Cup as Middlesbrough manager in 2004, is expected to name a weakened team for tonight’s visit of the Cobblers, but Mitrovic wants to be involved to improve his match fitness.

He added: “I want to play on Tuesday, but we’ll have to see. I’m not the coach, the coach needs to decide. But I think it would be good for my body, for my fitness, if I play, so I hope I do.”