'In hindsight': Dan Burn reflects on the tough decision Newcastle United had to make in the summer

Newcastle United will come up against a couple of familiar faces on Sunday as they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Chris Wood has turned into prime Alan Shearer since leaving Newcastle and joining Nottingham Forest and is being out-scored this season only by Erling Haaland.

Meanwhile, Elliot Anderson has nailed down a first-team place under Nuno Espirito Santo and is back wearing the Three Lions at international level after turning his back on Scotland.

The old faces add a certain level of spice to Sunday's game but the fact that Forest are going so well in the League while Newcastle are only just finding their feet makes things even trickier for the Magpies.

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Newcastle need to find a way to motivate themselves for smaller games says Dan Burn

Newcastle's Dan Burn has been speaking to The Chronicle ahead of Sunday's game and he's warned that he and his teammates need to guard against any kind of complacency.

"I never worry when we play Man City or Arsenal, it is easy to motivate yourselves for those games. It's the games where you are up against "so-called lesser teams". That is the challenge for us.

"You have that same level of motivation and that's whether we play League Cup, FA Cup, any competition. Nottingham Forest are flying but it will be the same sort of thing we need to have that certain level if we are going there to get that result."

Dan Burn believes things have worked out well for Elliot Anderson since he left Newcastle

Burn then went on to praise his former teammates for what they've done since they left Tyneside with the Blyth-born giant saying that as much as nobody wanted Elliot Anderson to leave the club it has probably worked out well for him.

"I don’t think anyone wanted to see him go and it’s obviously disappointing to lose another Geordie as well but I’m very happy for him.

"In hindsight, it’s probably helped him, we had a lot of competition in the position that he wanted to play and he’s been able to have more game time at Forest and I think he’s proven why he’s been such a good player."