Thinking about this Saturday, and honestly? It feels like one of our hardest games. Newcastle away—I mean, St. James’ Park. Doesn’t matter really what time we kick off. They’re just a strong team, you know? A really intense one.
Their place, it’s tough for anyone. Me, I always think it’s difficult. They’ve got a good manager doing fantastic for years now. Their home record, actually it’s the sixth-best in the league which is wild since they’re 12th. Shows you something.
A lot of teams, they go there and points get dropped. Even City lost there. Arsenal was almost beaten. So for us, it’s no different. One of the hardest away games, 100 percent.
Our own form away from home, it’s been good. Second-best right now. We’ve won our last three early Saturday games too. But that doesn’t change what’s coming. The environment, the players they have—it’s a proper challenge.
I remember Chelsea winning there before, 3-0, that was a while back now. Reece James with those strikes. But that’s history. This is now. We just have to be ready for what they bring.
For them, a win boosts everything. For us, going there and getting a result? That says a lot about where we’re at. It’s going to be a battle, you can feel it. We’ll have to be at our absolute best, I think.
Yeah, the preparation this week has been different, you can feel it. We trained with more noise pumped in, crowd sounds, just to simulate that atmosphere a bit. It’s not the same, obviously, but it gets the mind right. The boys have been focused.
I look at their squad and see players who can hurt you from anywhere. Gordon, Isak, Joelinton—they have that energy that never seems to drop. It’s a ninety-minute thing with them. You switch off for a second, and it’s done. Our shape has to be perfect, or else.
People talk about the travel, the cold up there. That’s part of it, sure. But the bigger thing is the emotional lift their crowd gives them. It’s a fact. From the first whistle, it’s like playing uphill. You have to manage the game in moments, quiet it down when you can. That’s a skill in itself.
We’ve had players in the treatment room, a few knocks. That’s normal for this time of year. But everyone who travels needs to be ready to contribute. It’s that type of match where you might need to change things early. The intensity, it forces your hand sometimes.
Honestly, I don’t put much stock in our good away record going into this one. Every game is its own story. What happened at Fulham or Burnley, that’s in the past. This is a completely different puzzle. It’s about who handles the occasion better on the day.
At the end of it, these are the tests you want. To see where you’re really at. You find out about character. We’ll go there with a plan, but also with the need to adapt. To fight. If we come through it, it means more than just three points. It builds something. We’ll see.
