In this week’s edition of Jets Insider, Nathan Burns answered questions submitted by the Club’s Members and supporters.
In this week-s edition of Jets Insider, new recruit Nathan Burns answered questions submitted by the Club-s Members and supporters.
Burns discusses his loan deal with the Jets, his preferred playing position and his impressions of Newcastle so far.
@soccer_joel asks via Twitter: How does the level of training at the Jets compare to when you were first in the league at Adelaide?
Nathan Burns (NB): I definitely think the tempo is a lot faster now and physically, the players are a lot stronger as well.
Everyone is competing hard for spots and that definitely lifts the pace and intensity of the sessions.
Gareth Park asks via email: What is you preferred position? Playing as a number 10 or out wide?
NB: Obviously I enjoy playing as a number 10 because you-re in the centre of the park and on the ball a lot more.
When you-re on the wing, you-re restricted a little bit by what side of the field the game is mainly being played on. At the same, I like the freedom of playing on the wing and getting to run at players and isolating defenders one-on-one.
@B5Grant asks via Twitter: What would it take for you to stay with the Newcastle Jets after January?
NB: It would take the two Clubs, the Jets and my Korean Club Incheon to negotiate and come to an agreement. It-s out of my hands at the moment, so I think I-ve just got to focus on my performance for the Jets and see what the two Clubs come up with.
Brooke Hulston asks via email: What-s the biggest thing you-ve learned from your experiences playing overseas?
NB: Basically, you-ve got to take your opportunities when they-re presented to you. You get very limited chances, so if you have the opportunity to get on the park, even if it-s only 10 minutes, you-ve got to step-up and take that opportunity.
Kieran Wilson asks via email: Do you still have ambitions to play for the Socceroos again?
NB: Of course. I have a lot of ambition to play for my country again and hopefully I can get a sniff this year with it being a World Cup year.
I-m going to focus on working hard at the Jets and hopefully I can rewarded with the chance to play for the Socceroos again.
Dan Coppard asks via email: Have you set yourself a target for the number of goals you want to score this season? If so, how many?
NB: I don-t really set a specific number as a target, but normally I like to be scoring one goal every two or three games, otherwise you can get into a little bit of a drought.
If you can consistently get one every now and then, it-s good for the confidence.
For me, assists are just as important, so if I-m involved in most of the goals in a game I-m quite happy, whether it-s the build-up play, the last pass or finishing it off myself.
Nicholas Turner asks via email: Do you consider yourself more of a goal scorer or playmaker?
NB: I think in my position it-s important to do both. You-ve got to score goals yourself and help others get on the score sheet as well, so I think it-s key to be able both things.
Aaron Jones asks via email: How is your combination with Heskey coming along?
NB: I think it-s coming along pretty well actually. We can always get better, but that will come with time.
I-ll continue to keep trying to work with him each training session and each game we-ll try and get better.
Karen Paul asks via email: Are you enjoying the City of Newcastle so far? What have you been getting up to in your downtime?
NB: The weather has been perfect since I arrived. I come from a small country town and Newcastle has a bit of a country feel, which is nice, but it-s also by the beach and there-s plenty to do.
Living in Seoul, it was such a massive city, so to come here and be nice and relaxed is perfect.
Ryan Gleeson asks via email: Hi Nathan, great to see you score in your first game for the Jets! How important is goal scoring for an attacking player-s confidence?
NB: It-s massive. If you have goals under your belt you go into a game not worrying about scoring and just focus on playing good football knowing that if you do that the goals will come.
If you go into a game thinking you-ve got to score, then you forget the simple things and it can affect your performance a little bit.
James Thomas asks: What would you consider to be your career highlight to date?
NB: I-d have to say my first game for the Socceroos. It-s definitely the proudest moment of my career so far.
I came on for Mark Viduka who was one of Australia-s best ever players, so for me, that was a really special moment.
Thank you for all your Jets Insider questions! Make sure you follow @NewcastleJetsFC on Twitter to find out who will be answering questions from Members and supporters next week!
