Dan Burn makes his frustrations known after Everton shocker
Dan Burn has admitted Newcastle United’s performance in last night’s 1-0 defeat to Everton was nowhere near good enough and well below the levels fans have a right to demand.
Speaking to the Premier League’s North East reporter Andy Sixsmith after the final whistle, the Geordie defender also addressed the boos at full-time, acknowledging the frustration among the home crowd.
Burn: It wasn’t a Newcastle United performance
Burn did not hide his disappointment after another frustrating night at St James’ Park, where we mustered just two shots on target in a display lacking energy, quality, fight or organisation.
“Frustrated. So frustrated. That wasn’t a performance that was a Newcastle performance. Especially at home. It’s fine margins in this league and we’ve been on the wrong end of it of late.”
The 34-year-old also made it clear that he understood why supporters made their feelings known at full-time, insisting the team must give fans something to get behind.
“I can understand the fans frustration to an extent. We’re a passionate fan base - I’ve been a fan in the stands myself - I completely understand it.
"If we’re not performing then they’re well within their rights to do that. They don’t need us to win. They need us to try to win.”
Those comments reflect the growing frustration around St James’ Park, with Newcastle having now suffered another damaging result after Thursday night’s Carabao Cup exit at Everton.
Newcastle lacking confidence in both boxes
Burn also admitted that our problems at both ends of the pitch are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The defender has repeatedly spoken about the need for greater standards, but believes the same issues are continuing to cost us valuable points, and seeing our confidence levels dip as a result.
“I’m coming in and saying the same thing all the time - that it’s not good enough in either box and it’s tough to win Premier League games if it’s not. We’re mid table.”
“You can feel there’s a lack of confidence especially going forward. We’re lacking that decisiveness to score goals. But it’s something we have to fix quickly.”
It is a worrying assessment from the skipper, particularly with the season now reaching a stage where results and performances need to improve if we're to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.
Failure to address our glaring issues in both boxes, and it will only get worse before it gets better, with Brighton and Arsenal to come after Saturday's trip to Fulham.
