Dan Burn makes Newcastle frustrations known in new interview
Dan Burn has made his frustrations clear after Monday's unacceptable 4-1 defeat at Coventry, admitting Newcastle's young side must learn quickly and find greater consistency after another damaging away performance.
The skipper made his first appearance of the season at the CBS Arena after recovering from a foot injury, coming off the bench in stoppage time following Bazoumana Touré’s late ankle problem.
Speaking candidly to the Shields Gazette’s Charlie Bennett, Burn reflected on the defeat and the challenge facing Matthias Jaissle’s young squad.
Burn opens up on Coventry collapse
Burn admitted Newcastle were disappointed with the manner of the defeat, particularly after building some momentum with their previous win over Hull City.
“It was disappointing to concede four goals at any point but I think, off the back of the Hull game, we wanted to be a bit more consistent. Obviously, it does not help to concede so early.
“I still think we had a lot of chances and I think those were pivotal moments where we could be back in the game. And we could be speaking about a completely different game then.
"They scored decent goals from outside the box but you can’t concede four goals away from home and expect to get anything.”
The 34-year-old also highlighted the challenge of adapting from an old squad to a young squad in the space of one summer, but accepts that we'll have to learn fast and bounce back quickly to avoid further punishment.
“We could have gone fourth if we’d won the game so it absolutely shows the standard of the Premier League. But I think it is a learning curve as well.
"We’ve gone from having one of the oldest squads last season to one of the youngest. People now see that you can’t have an off night at any point because teams in the Premier League will punish you. We’ve been punished at Coventry.
“We’re massively frustrated and the lads are disappointed. We felt like we were picking up some momentum. So I think we need to find that consistency and look to bounce back from this.”
Captain to return against Villa on Saturday?
Burn’s return is a welcome boost for Jaissle, but the question now is whether the England international will be brought back into the starting line-up for Saturday’s home clash with Aston Villa.
Our defensive display at Coventry was a huge concern, with Sven Botman enduring another shocker on the road as we shipped four goals for the second away game in succession.
Burn leadership and experience has been missed, while his return could help with the lack of physicality and organisation we've shown in recent games. A young requires experienced voices on the pitch during difficult moments, and Burn can bring exactly that.
Jaissle did warn after Monday’s defeat that Burn, Amar Dedić, Joelinton and William Osula may need another couple of weeks to return to their best physical condition, having been carefully managed on their comebacks.
That makes a start against Villa far from certain. However, with us needing to see a response on Saturday and defensive concerns mounting, the temptation to bring Burn back sooner rather than later may be difficult to ignore.
