Nathan Burns can’t wait to suit up for the Jets in the A-League after completing his first session with the Club on Monday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets forward Nathan Burns says he cannot wait to suit up for the Jets in the A-League after completing his first training session with the Club at Ray Watt Oval this morning.
Burns arrives in Newcastle on loan from Korean Club Incheon United and is scheduled to remain at the Jets until January 11.
An unexpected coaching change shortly after arriving at Incheon, followed by an untimely knee injury limited Burns to just three appearances during a trying period at the Club.
The 25-year-old said he is excited to be in Newcastle and is looking forward to having the opportunity to play regular football in the A-League once again.
“It was really frustrating (in Korea) and it was a hard 12 months you could say. I trained hard everyday but I couldn-t really change the opinion of the coach,” Burns said.
“We had a winning team and while we were winning, nothing was going to change.
“I-m very excited to be in Newcastle. It-s great weather at the moment, a beautiful city and it was good to get out there with the boys and have our first session.”
Burns, who scored 12 goals in 37 A-League and Asian Champions League appearances for Adelaide United before moving to Greek giants AEK Athens, said he immediately felt comfortable in his new surroundings at the Jets.
“I know a few of the boys like Ruben Zadkovich from the 2008 Olympic team and Mark Birighitti from Adelaide,” Burns said.
“They all made me feel welcome today, now it-s just a matter of time before we all get on the field and link up together.
“It-s also just being in the change room. Being overseas for six years now, it-s good to be back with the Australian players.
“There is a personality and culture of looking out for all the players here and just being able to speak English again is great.
“While I was overseas, I-d go to training and wouldn-t have a conversation with anyone all day because of the language barrier.
“Just to be back in this sort of team environment is probably one of the most important things for me.”
Burns said he is confident it won-t take him long to build on-field chemistry with his new teammates.
“I-ve been training hard for the last six months, so it-s just a matter of getting a couple of matches under my belt and I-ll be good to go,” he explained.
“Hopefully I can play an important role. Hopefully I can score goals and link up well with Heskey and the other forward players
“I haven-t really sat down and spoke with the coach about tactics yet, so we-ll have to wait and see.”
Burns said he was open to the idea of extending his loan spell with Newcastle beyond January 11, but said the final decision ultimately rests with his Korean Club Incheon United.
“We-ll have to wait and see and a lot of it depends on how I play,” Burns said.
“There are still six months and 14 games and a lot can happen in that time.
“It-s not really up to me, it-s up to my Club Incheon because I-m still contracted with them, so we-ll have to wait and see.
“We-ll just take it a game at a time and when that period comes we-ll sit down and reassess.”
