‘I’d love to clinch a place in Europe at Man U’
DAN Burn admits that nothing would give him greater pleasure than clinching a place in Europe in front of a packed house at Old Trafford.
Burn grew up on the bitter rivalry between the Magpies and Manchester United and has witnessed the intensities between the two northern clubs since he was a kid.
As a season ticket holder, Burn would have witnessed the Alan
Shearer taunts exchanged by both clubs after the Geordie legend sensationally turned down the Red Devils in 1996 to become Newcas
tle’s record goalscorer.
When asked about the occasion, and everything that comes with it, Burn told the Chronicle: “It’s massive. They don’t see us as rivals as much as we see them as rivals.
“As a kid I always disliked Man United. I would love nothing better to go there and get the result we need.”
Newcastle will go into the game with their hands on sixth spot and know that a victory would leave them with a clean shot at Europe in the final game.
The Magpies also know that they can force the Red Devils into their lowest Premier League finish of all time if they do the business in front of the Stretford End.
However, Burn was keen to underline that it was all about New
castle’s needs - not those in red.
Clinching a place in Europe would be an amazing achievement given the ridiculous injury list the Magpies have suffered this season.
The centre-back from Blyth said: “It’s still in our hands, like I’ve said, we are just proud that we have managed to get ourselves in that position. Especially with all the stuff we have had to deal with.”
Newcastle turned on the style at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup to earn a 3-0 win last autumn and have also beaten the Red Devils twice on Eddie Howe’s watch.
Burn said: “I don’t think we have anything to fear. To put ourselves in this position after the season we’ve had, I am really proud of the lads.
“We’re going there full of confidence. We have been there and managed to beat them this season in the Carabao Cup already. There’s everything to play for now.”
Howe is also rubbing his hands at the prospect of getting the job done at the Theatre of Dreams. He said: “The Manchester United game is set up perfectly, isn’t it? That will be massive for us.
“We’ll give everything we can to try to get a positive result, and then of course Brentford will take care of itself on the last day. But as we’ve said all along it’s probably going to go right to the end.”