Burn urges Newcastle to show their ugly side in Bilbao clash / Photo: Oli SCARFF - AFP
Burn urges Newcastle to show their ugly side in Bilbao clash
Dan Burn has urged Newcastle to accept winning with ugly performances at times as they prepare to face Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Eddie Howe's side host Bilbao at St James' Park looking to bounce back from a lacklustre 3-1 defeat against struggling West Ham in the Premier League last weekend.
The limp loss in east London has extended Newcastle's miserable domestic away form, but they can erase the painful memories of that setback with a victory over Bilbao.
Newcastle defender Burn believes his team need to show a more tenacious streak when times are tough, rather than relying on their skill to get them out of trouble.
"It comes down to mentality. The manager will look at that and I'm sure he will come up with a plan on what we can do better and how we can win games," Burn told reporters on Tuesday.
"Probably be a bit more ugly with stuff. If you go away from home, sometimes it's important not to get beaten as well, pick up points and keep yourself ticking along.
"As long as you're winning your home games and not getting beaten away, it's better. But we have not done that well enough."
Bilbao will be missing influential brothers Inaki and Nico Williams, while Howe will make a late decision on skipper Bruno Guimaraes after he trained away from the group on Tuesday because of illness.
Howe knows how crucial the Bilbao fixture could be to Newcastle's hopes of qualifying for the last 16.
Winners of two of their first three matches in this season's tournament, the Magpies face tricky trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen later in the league phase.
"It's a really important game for us because we know what we have ahead in the Champions League. But that's not to say that this game is going to be easy either," he said.
"We are back at home, we love playing here as we say many times, but Athletic Club will provide stiff opposition.
"They're a very good defensive team - their defensive numbers are very, very strong. Off the ball, they've delivered this year some really strong performances in particular.
"From that side, our attacking game is going to have to be at its very best, and of course Champions League nights here are always very special."
H.Klein--MP
