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- ‘I’m loving it. It couldn’t have gone any better since I signed really’
- ‘The takeover brought new life into the club. With the fans, too, they didn’t just demand a team that wins, but a team that tries to win’
For Dan Burn, Newcastle United’s ambition has no bounds and they have the motivation and mindset to bring unbridled joy to their football-obsessed city.
They are also a team driven to oppose those who do not want them to succeed — or disrupt the status quo of clubs who have long dominated at the top of the Premier League.
Following the 2021 takeover by Ƶ’s Public Investment Fund, Newcastle have gone from being involved in a relegation battle to a fourth-placed finish last season and subsequent return to the Champions League after a 20-year absence.
Defender Burn says that it has been “perfect” since he joined his hometown club from Brighton 19 months ago for £13 million.
“I’m loving it,” he told Arab News exclusively. “It couldn’t have gone any better since I signed really.
“We are doing really well, still a lot to do, but I would have snapped your hand off if you had said we were going to do this when I signed.
“With the ambition of the ownership, we always knew we were going to go in this direction. We have probably done it a lot quicker than what we were expecting and it’s about trying to keep us on that trajectory now and keep pushing for as long as we can.
“The takeover brought new life into the club. With the fans, too, they didn’t just demand a team that wins, but a team that tries to win.
“Ever since the ownership has come in, especially with (co-owners) Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley, I see them and they couldn’t do more. When you have got a group like that behind you — and always wanting to do better — then to get us to where we are now, I’m sure they will keep trying to do that.
“Around the city you can see everyone buzzing and it’s nice because, for a long time, it hasn’t been like that. So it’s a nice place to play at the moment and hopefully it will carry on like that.”
The buzz is such that former Newcastle and Nottingham Forest defender Stuart Pearce tipped them to wrest the title from Manchester City, who are chasing an unprecedented fourth successive championship.
Following an impressive 5-1 opening-day win over Aston Villa, Newcastle were edged out 1-0 by City at the Etihad last weekend in a hard-fought encounter.
They host Liverpool today at St. James’ Park, with a trip to Brighton next in a tough set of fixtures at the start of this eagerly awaited campaign.
But it’s a challenge Eddie Howe’s men relish, according to the 31-year-old Burn.
“He’s a legend,” said Burn of Pearce as he pondered the England hero’s pre-season prediction. “I think it’s a little bit early to say we are title challengers if I’m honest, but you never know.
“If we can string some good results together we want to make sure that we are in and around there at the end of the season.
“Of course that’s what we want — and you want to have that sort of pressure on you to be able to do that.
“We want to be doing what Man City are doing. It took them a bit of time to get there and I’m sure we will get there, but it’s a tough league with a lot of good teams.
“We need to prove it was not a one-season thing (to finish fourth), but that we are here to stay.”
He added: “Our ambition is to go a step further than last season, but I think it’s going to be tough with the Champions League as well.
“We have seen it before, like West Ham last season as they struggled in the league when they had all the European games coming up. I think we just have to treat every game as if it’s the same and no matter what competition it is — and we just attack every team and see how we get on.”
Newcastle won the last of their four top-flight titles in 1927 and their highest Premier League finish was second place in 1996 and 1997.
Yet in an enthused show of determination and defiance against critics, Burn feels Newcastle are viewed just as Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City were after Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan bought the club in 2008 and transformed their fortunes.
An influx of major signings saw City end a 35-year trophy drought with the FA Cup in 2011 and claimed a coveted Premier League title the following year.
Now Pep Guardiola’s men are Europe’s top side after lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season — and will play in December’s Fifa Club World Cup in Ƶ.
Burn says that City are “the benchmark” for Newcastle and, with the addition of summer signings Sandro Tonali, Tino Livermento, Harvey Barnes and Lewis Hall, the Toon have greater hope.
Luring Italy international midfielder Tonali, 23, away from AC Milan was a statement transfer by Newcastle as Burn admitted: “It’s quality — and it shows where we are that we can attract that sort of player.
“Sandro’s been brilliant and Harvey, we all know what he’s like — he was brilliant at Leicester. I think we have a lot of competition all around the pitch so it means you don’t get relaxed and know you are going to play every week, but that you are going to push each other and it’s friendly competition.”
And he also warned: “I think this is a team that can handle the pressure. I feel like it’s a sort of ‘us against the world’ — I don’t think anyone outside particularly wants us to do well.
“But I feel us, as a city, we like that. We like being a team that’s sort of not liked and everyone gets together and fights against that — I think you can see that with the way we play.
“I don’t think anyone likes it when a team comes into money and challenges that top six — especially the top six, I don’t think they like that.
“They like there being a certain amount of teams challenging for that and that’s probably why. When we play away, we feel that and I think we live off it. It’s motivation for us.
“It’s like when Man City first did the same. They are the best team in the world and have been for the last few years — even if they hadn’t won the Champions League before.
“That’s the benchmark — and I feel as if we are getting closer to them. We probably didn’t do as well as we wanted to against them (in losing 1-0), but I do feel we are getting closer to them and hopefully we can do it soon.”
A first win over Liverpool since 2015 will certainly offer proof of Newcastle’s title credentials, before Thursday’s Champions League draw that will pit them against Europe’s elite.
That will also be a dream come true for Burn, who was released by the club in 2003 after being on their books as a youngster.
That same season he watched his heroes when they last played in the competition and reached the second group stage after famous wins over Juventus and Feyenoord got them there.
Burn, who has played at left-back and central defense for the club, said: “I think it will be a pinch-me moment.
“I always loved Newcastle, but when I really fell in love with football was when I watched those Champions League nights — games against Juventus, Feyenoord, those are the nights that stick out for me as a kid.
“Hopefully we are now going to have that opportunity to inspire the next generation of young kids.
“We’ve got three important games before we get to the Champions League games, so we have to make sure our focus does not slip.”