DAN BURN will be the proudest man in St. James’ Park tonight.
The loveable Blyth-born defender, 33, could only dream about occasions such as these while working as a trolley pusher at Asda in his teens.
GettyDan Burn lived a boyhood dream with his Wembley heroics for Newcastle[/caption]
PAFellow Carabao Cup hero Alexander Isak has now become public enemy No1[/caption]
But not even the giant 6ft 7in star would have dared to imagine what unfolded the last time he pulled on his beloved Black and White to face Liverpool.
When he headed home the opener in the Carabao Cup Final his football fairytale from non-league to Wembley hero was almost complete.
Though it was Alexander Isak’s matchwinner that secured a first major trophy for 70 years that cemented the pair’s status as living legends on Tyneside.
But, for the latter, all that has gone up in smoke thanks to the badly-advised strike action of the wantaway rebel.
And his antics feel like just as much of a slap in the face of the biggest man in Toon as it does the club and its supporters.
For all the Swedish Superman hype following the cup success, there’s only goalscorer from that epic afternoon under the arch considered a superhero round these parts now.
Having grown up willing to do anything just to achieve his life-time ambition of playing for his beloved Mags, Burn will be feeling the pain and anger over Isak just as much as those – including his family and friends – that will be raising the roof on the Gallowgate later.
Eddie Howe may continue to insist that the squad would welcome Isak, whose heart is seemingly set on moving on to what he believes will be bigger and better things on Merseyside, back into the fold, Burn’s words were telling last weekend after the draw at Aston Villa.
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He said: “It is tighter than ever, we have worked so hard to get that team spirit.
“We have been together for a lot of years now but I don’t think anybody has done anything at this club without each other.
“Nobody has done anything by themselves. It has always been a team effort and we have achieved things by sticking with each other.”
We all know Burn would probably play for free for his beloved Mags. And whatever he has to say privately to the new public enemy No1 he’ll have to continue towing the line in front of the cameras and bite his lip until there is an outcome.
But it’s not only the homegrown stars feeling let down over Isak’s antics.
Within five minutes of Isak dropping his now infamous “broken promises” statement on Instagram last Tuesday, Newcastle’s Brazilian skipper Bruno Guimaraes hit back – albeit again in cryptic fashion.
Toon’s leader shared an image of himself looking defiant decked out in a Newcastle top in front of a club flag.
Meanwhile, the never-ending spiel of ex-Liverpool players throwing in their ten penneth worth ensures the saga remains on the backpages as Howe continues to count down the seconds until the end of deadline day next Monday.
Isak to Liverpool transfer saga timeline
JANUARY: First links to Liverpool emerge
FEBRUARY: £150million record fee mooted
MARCH: Isak denies Newcastle contract talk
APRIL: Eddie Howe hails Isak as “very professional.”
MAY: Howe insists Isak will not be sold
Last match in Newcastle shirt
JUNE: Transfer links to Liverpool heat up
JULY: Flies with Newcastle for Austria training camp
Left out of Celtic friendly
Liverpool hijack Toon’s Hugo Ekitike deal after making Isak enquiry
Doesn’t travel for pre-season tour of Singapore and South Korea, citing injury
AUGUST: Training by himself at Newcastle
Liverpool have £110m bid rejected
Isak stops training and goes on strike
Moves out of his apartment
Releases angry statement blasting ‘trust has been lost’
Newcastle respond by insisting he won’t be sold unless it benefits club
The Toon boss has, aside from Isak and his so-far cursed pursuit of a new striker, enjoyed a good window by bringing in Anthony Elanga, Jacob Ramsey, Malick Thiaw and Aaron Ramsdale.
He admitted: “I’ll be pleased when it’s here. Pleased if we have what we want.
“There are big positives for us. Of course there’s one big challenging situation that’s not resolved.
“From that side I can’t wait for the end of the window because we can get back to focusing on the football matches.”
He still refuses to stick the boot and slam Isak publicly too – even after the fallen idol did.
Howe said: “All of these things, ideally, should be face-to-face, club on player. Yes, in public, it’s great for you guys, it’s great news, but it doesn’t reflect well on us or Alex.”
And while he remains uncertain on what the future may hold for Isak, he knows after everything that has happened, Arne Slot’s Reds will have to face a cauldron of anger and noise later in one of English football’s most-anticipated and famous fixtures.
He added: “Newcastle versus Liverpool is always a very special game. I can picture previous Premier League encounters over the years with vivid memories of moments and drama in the games and this will be no different.
“Of course, I’m not stupid, I know what’s around the fixture. I know the importance of it – it’s our first home game of the season. All of these things just make it extra special.”
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