Nicky Butt: Vi måste jobba hårdare
Nicky Butt talar ut om den krisartade situationen i Newcastle och menar att laget överskattar sig självt och att spelarna måste arbeta mycket hårdare.
Nicky Butt sparar inte på orden i News of the World när han ger sin syn på problemen i Newcastle:
"It's definitely in our heads. We think we're too good to be working as hard as a Hull or a Bolton. We have to work as hard as them and then our ability will kick in.
"Maybe we think we don't need to do that, that we're too good. We think: 'We've got Michael Owen, we've got Oba Martins, we've got Gutierrez, we've got Damien Duff - we've got all these great players, so we don't need to work as hard. But the fact is we do.
"I'm part of it. We're all in it together. We're going out for games and we have the thing in our head that we are much better than him, the person we're playing against.
"We think: 'I'm a much better player and I can take it easy today.' Everyone is part of that and we have to get rid of it.
"It's not work ethic, to be fair. They are all good lads who work hard in training and give their all. It's something inside your head. I'm no different. You think: 'I'm playing against this lad today, and I'm better.' You might think once or twice a season: 'I can take it a bit easy today' - but you can't."
Butt fortsätter:
"We've the potential to be a big club but we're not. We're going backwards. And I came here to challenge for the top four. Everyone is Newcastle daft up here. Even the girls and the grannies go around in black and white shirts. That makes it different.
"You always associated Newcastle with big signings and trying to get over the final hurdle. The last two seasons have been disasters and I feel for the fans and everybody involved. At the minute we are nowhere near challenging where we should be. We are inconsistent, we've got no confidence and we need to get it back.
Butt berättar om sina känsloband till klubben, staden och fansen:
"Playing at St James' is something we should thrive on. We should be looking forward to playing in front of our fans. If we get the structure of the club right, we can get there. But it will take years and no one wants to hear that. You need to get the academy running right, you need to get players coming through the club who bleed it, players whose grandparents loved the club.
"I feel for this club now. I feel for Newcastle. I love the place, I love the attitude of the people around it. It's just football, football, football. Our position hurts me because this place means something to me. We have to keep the club in the Premier League."
Säga vad man vill om Butt, men han har alltid uppträtt professionellt och haft den rätta inställningen. Här sätter han väl mer eller mindre huvudet på spiken och alla som bryr sig om Newcastle kan nog se dessa uppenbara problem som Nicky pratar om.
