Dan Burn makes worrying Newcastle United admission ahead of facing West Ham

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Newcastle United are getting back to their best, and will hope to make it four wins on the bounce against West Ham United.

The Magpies are preparing to return to Premier League action, with the final international break of 2024 now over. Newcastle United’s international players played a lot of football, and will probably benefit from the game being on Monday night.

The Newcastle players not representing their country have been in Saudi Arabia, with Eddie Howe’s side travelling to Riyadh for a warm weather training camp. It was a limited group, with just 13 senior players heading to the Middle East.

But it will have been a confident group, after Newcastle turned the corner with three wins on the spin. They beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, before triumphing over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle’s season suddenly looks very different. A Carabao Cup quarter-final is looming, while Champions League qualification is very much a possibility.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	BrightonBrighton	11	5	4	2	19	15	4	19
7	FulhamFulham	11	5	3	3	16	13	3	18
8	NewcastleNewcastle	11	5	3	3	13	11	2	18
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	11	5	3	3	17	17	0	18

Dan Burn makes admission about Newcastle’s momentum

However, Newcastle do have a slight concern heading into their game against West Ham United.

That is according to Dan Burn, who has told Sky Sports that the international break may have halted their momentum.

“It’s felt a lot more like us [Newcastle’s recent performances],” he said.

“The international break has probably killed the momentum a little bit.

“We’re happy. I keep going back to that season we got into the Champions League. We went out there and had no fear and just wanted to dominate against teams. I feel like that’s the mentality we’re starting to get towards again.”

How Newcastle have done after international breaks this season

Burn is fearful that Newcastle have lost the momentum they built up before the international break. That is a fair concern, as it finally looked like the Newcastle of old was very much back.

But the break will have been a chance for a lot of Toon players to recharge their batteries, while many of the internationals will have seen their confidence soar after playing for their country. For example, Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento made their England debuts, while Anthony Gordon scored his first ever Three Lions goal.

When it comes to Newcastle playing immediately after the international break this season, there has been no pattern.

The first break was followed by a 2-1 win away to Wolves. Newcastle were nowhere near their best that day, with Harvey Barnes’ screamer from distance bailing the Magpies out.

The second international break was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Brighton. On that day, Eddie Howe’s side were actually fairly decent, but squandered multiple chances as they suffered a rare home loss.

Newcastle have played badly and won, then played well and lost. Now they will hope to play well and win, as they prepare to face a West Ham team that are underperforming this season.

Julen Lopetegui is already under pressure at the London Stadium, and Newcastle will be eager to build up their momentum once again at his side’s expense.