James McAtee has opened up on how he found life difficult in the immediate aftermath of Sheffield United’s infamous 8-0 defeat to Newcastle United in September 2023.
Former Sheffield United loanee James McAtee has opened up on how he “learned a lot” about how to deal with the negatives football can create in the days that followed the Blades’ 8-0 humbling to Newcastle United back in September 2023.
After rejoining the Blades for a second time at the beginning of September, McAtee, who was on loan from Manchester City, made his second Bramall Lane debut for the Magpies’ visit to S2.
However, the occasion saw United suffer their heaviest league defeat in their history, conceding eight times without reply, as Newcastle swept them aside via goals from Sean Longstaff, Dan Burn, Sven Botman, Callum Wilson, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almirón, Bruno Guimarães and Alexander Isak.
That defeat was the Blades’ second of six in a row in the Premier League, meaning McAtee struggled to have any sort of immediate impact after returning to the club following a fruitful loan spell at Bramall Lane in the Championship the season prior.
Now on the books of Nottingham Forest, the talented 23-year-old has recalled the impact the defeat to Newcastle had on him, admitting he never wants to experience anything like it again.
McAtee opens up on aftermath of Newcastle battering
“The second year was brutal, not nice at all,” McAtee told FourFourTwo. “We struggled, I think we won three games.
“And when we got beat 8-0 by Newcastle, that was horrible. I didn’t want to go in for the next three days, I wanted to hide under my bed. It’s something I’d never want to go back to, but it was a lesson about trying to keep your head, trying to stay positive.
“Don’t spiral into reading the comments online, letting them get in your head. It was a tough time, but I learned a lot.”
Sheffield United collapsed at the hands of Newcastle United.placeholder image
Sheffield United collapsed at the hands of Newcastle United. | Getty Images
McAtee’s first season at Bramall Lane saw him play a key role in helping the club secure promotion back to the Premier League after they had fallen short in the play-offs in 2021/22. He made 43 appearances, chipping in with nine goals.
The Blades also enjoyed a successful run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup that season, but were pitted up against Manchester City, meaning McAtee was unable to play against his parent club at Wembley.
“It was a rollercoaster,” McAtee added, reflecting on his first season in Sheffield. “The first half of the season wasn’t so good, then around Christmas time I kicked on, got back into the team and that was probably my favourite year of football so far.
“We got to the FA Cup semi-final, although we drew City, which meant I couldn’t play – that was a pain in the arse. I remember watching the draw, seeing we’d drawn City, I was gutted.
“But the highlight of the season was getting promoted - it was amazing.”
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