Newcastle United have been flying in the early stages of this season, currently sat in seventh position after a three-match unbeaten run that includes a valuable victory over Crystal Palace last weekend and a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
The Magpies have certainly been performing above expectations in their return to the top-flight and a flood of optimism has washed over the club, with Mike Ashley officially putting the club up for sale and aiming to complete a deal before the festive season.
Despite the early form, Newcastle ace Isaac Hayden has stated he and his team-mates are ignoring the current position in the table as it’s ‘pointless’ at this stage of the campaign, with a lot of work to do over the coming months.
He was quoted by The Chronicle ahead of Monday night’s clash with Burnley, another side performing above expectations, where he stated the focus is only on the matches directly ahead of them.
“I don’t really think the lads do look at the table, because it’s pointless at this stage of the season as there are so many games to go and points to play for. It means nothing. The most important thing we look at is each game. Three points were up for grabs (against Palace) and we took them. The next game’s another opportunity to get three points.”
Hayden, who was previously at Arsenal but failed to make a single Premier League appearance for the Gunners, also spoke about how the top-flight is a considerable step-up from the Championship.
“The players are just better. That’s it. The tempo’s quicker. The players you’re playing against week in, week out are just better players.”
“The divisions don’t lie. The players who play at that level for a long time aren’t bad players. People might look at it and say ‘Crystal Palace are in the bottom three’, but they’ve got some very good players in that team. They made it very difficult.”
