Burn says Newcastle at their best when it is 'us against the world'

Dan Burn said Newcastle are at their best when they adopt an "us against the world" mentality after Newcastle drew 1-1 with Strasbourg in their final pre-season friendly of the summer. He also said he wants to lead Newcastle back into Europe as the club's new captain.

Burn joined Newcastle United from Brighton in January, 2022, and had been away from the club's training ground for a few months, feeling like he had returned to a new environment following his post-World Cup break. "I'm still learning names to be honest," he said. The summer on Tyneside has been turbulent, with the departures of manager Eddie Howe and influential players Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon. Head coach Matthias Jaissle has brought half a dozen members of staff with him, and Burn has been meeting several additions to the squad including Lukas Hornicek, Ewen Jaouen, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur and Bazoumana Toure, while right-back Amar Dedic is set to arrive from Benfica.

Reflecting on the team's mentality after the Strasbourg draw, Burn said: "We've always done well as a team when we have that thing where it's us against the world." He added: "I feel like we were always written off a little bit. We always seem to be backs against the wall fighting." "For me, that's when we play at our best, when we've got that underdog mentality, so hopefully we will kick on," he said.

Burn warned integration of the new arrivals will take time given their lack of Premier League experience, noting all the club's signings are 24 and under and have never played in the Premier League. He said he wants to "embrace the change" and asked rhetorically, "Right now, can you tell if someone is going to be the next Bruno?" Before answering: "Maybe not, but I think there's definitely ability there."

Jaissle has repeatedly used the word "transition" since taking charge and described the vocal Burn as "vital in helping guide our younger players through this period of change". The responsibility for pushing younger squad members will sit with Burn and the club's other senior players. Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season but were described in the article as previously a ferocious and spiky side to play against at their best under Howe.

On the perceived change in how Newcastle played under scrutiny, Burn said: "It seemed everything we did was stopped in the Premier League in the season after." He continued: "It's more a mentality. Not that we ever tried to hurt people, but everyone said that. People feared us and didn't want to play against us. I'd love for us to have a bit of that. "All the best teams seem to. If that's going to help us, I'd love to do that but I'd be surprised if the Premier League allowed us."

Newcastle will get their first look of the new-look side in the top flight when they face Liverpool at St James' Park next week (Sunday, 16:30 BST). The match is set to be an emotional afternoon as the stadium will pay tribute to the late Kevin Keegan, who also represented Liverpool as a player; Burn said he had lunch with Keegan at the end of May and described him as a "great person to be around". "I don't think we need any motivation," he said. "Either us or the city."

Those standards were set when the club qualified for the Champions League and ended a 70-year wait to win a major domestic trophy by lifting the EFL Cup. It will fall to Burn and the club's other senior players to push those around them.