Joe Buck reacts as Eddie Howe previews Newcastle United v Athletic Club
Dan Burn has given an honest assessment of Newcastle United this season - and the team he wants to take some inspiration from.
Dan Burn wants to see Newcastle United’s ‘ugly’ side return in the right way after a frustrating start to the season.
Newcastle sit 13th in the Premier League table with 12 points and 10 goals in their opening 10 league matches. It’s been an underwhelming start from a side who finished fifth in the table and won the Carabao Cup last season.
While the Premier League form has been disappointing, Newcastle have been solid in the cup competitions having progressed to the Carabao Cup quarter-final for the fourth successive season, while also winning two of their three Champions League matches so far.
The Magpies return to Champions League action at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening as they face Spanish side Athletic Club (8pm kick-off).
Burn and his teammates will be hoping to bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing 3-1 defeat at West Ham United and take a big step towards qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time.
Dan Burn discusses NUFC mentality problems
In addition to their inconsistent Premier League form, Newcastle have particularly struggled away from home having failed to win any of their last eight domestic away matches, a run stretching back to April.
And Burn wants to see Newcastle’s ‘ugly’ side return after developing a reputation as an awkward side when they finished fourth in the Premier League back in 2022/23.
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Looking for a solution to Newcastle’s recent issues, Burn said: “I'd probably [say] just be a little bit more ugly with stuff. I think we were well-known a few years ago for, I don't want to say it away, but - something ‘housery’ - and probably a lot of the stuff that's come in has pushed us away from that.
“Sometimes if you go away from home, it's important enough not be beaten as well, and pick up points and keep yourself fit and along, as long as you're winning your home games, and you're not getting beat those away games, it's better, but we've not done that well enough at the moment, so I think that's a good lesson.”
But Burn admitted the dark arts side of football was bred from being underdogs, something that has faded in recent seasons.
“I think probably the first year that we made the Champions League, we were probably more of an underdog and teams probably didn't respect us as much as they probably should have,” he said.
“I think you probably saw it with Notts Forest [Nottingham Forest] last season, I think teams just expected to turn up and beat them, and I think we were always quite ugly and bullied teams, and that was the way that we went about it.
“I feel like as you progress and want to push on, you move away from that because you bring in better quality players, and we play a different type of football, but I think there's always a place for that in the game.”
Dan Burn uses Arsenal example
Arsenal are currently runaway leaders in the Premier League while also boasting a perfect record in the Champions League.
And Burn thinks there are lessons to be learned from the manner in which Mikel Arteta’s side makes things difficult for their opponents.
“Arsenal are quite good at doing that,” Burn added. “But are also playing very, very good football, top of the league and performing well, so I think it's important that you can mix games up sometimes.
“I think possibly sometimes, especially on Sunday, a little bit too nice, but we need to be a bit more compact and a bit more resilient.
“I think you can still have an underdog mentality when you're not the underdog, and I think that's important sometimes for any team, I think the best teams in the world have got that ability to do it, so it's something to look forward to.”
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