- Dan Burn reflects on poor Newcastle United run
- Defender puts blame on teammates
- Eddie Howe not in agreement with Burn
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe continued to put himself in the firing line after the 3-1 win over Brighton, despite the best efforts of defender Dan Burn.
The victory over the Seagulls – a first in their last six outings – will lift some of the pressure on Howe. PIF continue to back the Magpies head coach but there is a feeling that Howe is not guaranteed to be in charge of the side next season.
Speaking after the win over Brighton, Burn admitted that the players should shoulder much of the ‘responsibility’ for a downturn in form this term.
Dan Burn believes Newcastle United players must take blame
He told the BBC: “The gaffer has took a lot of stick. That was for him today. Three games left, we know anything can happen. We’re well outside the European places but we’re going to give it a good push.
“I tend not to [read speculation]. I think I’ve learned over my career that everyone is going to talk regardless of what happens. I can understand the frustration, we’ve been on such an upward trajectory the last few seasons, we’ve took a little dip but we’re looking to finish the season strong.”
Burn was on the scoresheet against his former side, firing home a powerful header to put Newcastle 2-0 up. He added: “We needed that, we have picked up some not great results lately and the win was important. It wasn’t the greatest performance, we let them back in second half, but it’s great to get three points.”
“A lot of the responsibility for this season falls on us as players. The gaffer has taken a lot of stick, so that was for him today.”
Eddie Howe disagreed with Dan Burn comments
Those quotes were put to Howe after the match. The Newcastle United manager has been outspoken in demanding players to step up in recent weeks but has never gone so far as to blame individuals.
That was once again his stance. Disagreeing with Burn, Howe said: “I think responsibility always has to fall with the manager, the leader of the group, and then, of course, don’t get me wrong, the players are accountable to their performances.
“And I make sure that I’m very honest and thorough with the feedback that we give them. But I think we’ve got a really good group. I think we’ve got a really strong core of leaders. Who are really committed to and deliver results for the team and for the club.
“So in these difficult moments, is where that’s truly tested. And I complimented them all because I think they’ve really stuck together.”
In other news, Bruno Guimaraes makes injury admission after Newcastle United beat Brighton.
