Dundee United v Newcastle United

Dundee United Away

Tannadice Park

Sunday 2nd August Kick-off 3pm

Sixth and final pre-season friendly of the season.

Team News

Damien Duff has been named in the Republic of Ireland squad for their friendly with Australia next month. The winger missed Wednesday’s friendly with what manager Chris Hughton described as a “very, very slight groin strain”. He is expected to be available for Sunday’s trip to Dundee United.

Leeds Siege Mentality in Dressing Room

Steven Taylor talking to The Journal

There’s a massive siege mentality within the dressing room,” said the defender, a former season ticket holder at St James’s Park. “We know we’re there to be shot at at the moment, but we’re pulling together as a squad. We’ve brought some of the younger lads into the senior changing room, and formed a really close group. The younger lads are going to be with us throughout the season so we want them to get a feel of what it’s going to be like.

It’s a close squad now and we have to be like that. Maybe we weren’t like that last season, but this season we certainly need to be. Things can turn around very quickly at this football club. You feel as though it’s us against the world at times, and that can be a massive

thing. When we win, I don’t think we get the credit we deserve, but that’s something you get with playing for this football club. If you don’t like it, quit if you want. We need players who want to play for this club. It’s going to be a very difficult season. We’re going to be playing three games in a week fairly regularly, but we’re just going to have to get our heads down and get on with it. We’re going to have to look out for each other and stick together.

Everybody is going to have to graft in every game. If people didn’t want to be at the club, they would be pulling out of challenges and hiding. Every player who played against Leeds wants to play for Newcastle United. We haven’t got a clue what’s happening, but as players we just get on with it. It’s like us against the world at the minute but that could work in our favour. As long as we stick together as a group of players, whatever else happens will happen.

If players leave, players leave. What they’ll leave is a group of lads 100% committed to this club. We’ve shown that in training and most of the pre-season games. There are no slackers on the training field.”