Newcastle United defender Dan Burn laughs off talks of pressure as race for Champions League places hots up

Newcastle United are one of six teams battling for four spots in the Premier League in order to book a place in next season's Champions League.

We're being kind by not including Arsenal there, which would make it seven teams for five places, but in truth, they're not out of it yet, however, they're unlikely to drop out of the Champions League spots..

A few teams in the race have yet to play each other which adds some extra spice to things - Newcastle have Arsenal and Chelsea to come this season which will not be easy.

However, Saturday's game against Brighton may just be the most tricky of all the games thanks to our poor record against the Seagulls. We've already beaten Arsenal three times this season, and Chelsea really can go either way.

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Dan Burn is enjoying the end to the season rather than feeling any pressure

Despite what looks to be immense pressure on each game as the season draws to a close, Newcastle's Dan Burn isn't feeling it so much as he told The Chronicle that the lads are enjoying themselves.

"The Premier League has been really good this season. I know Liverpool have walked away with the title but apart from that, traditionally the teams that are up there have struggled, new teams have come into it and it's exciting.

"It's not like there's pressure. Pressure was when we hadn't won the first few games or trying to stay up in 2022. It is an enjoyment for us trying to get into the Champions League. We feel like we have the ability to do it too."

Newcastle do seem to be handling pressure much better these days

It does feel as though Eddie Howe has hit upon a good formula to deal with pressure as they showed no signs of feeling anything like pressure at Wembley when they lifted the Carabao Cup, which is a big step up from two years ago when the occasion seemed to get the better of them.

If the team can go out and just play their game without thinking about what it means for the league then there's no reason we can't win every remaining game, but we'd be mad to expect a clean sweep, so we just have to manage it right should we drop points and not overreact.

Obviously, we as fans have a bit more scope to get emotional, but we'd be crazy to think the players won't pick up on it if we lose faith.