Newcastle United and England defender Dan Burn revealed how some successful compartmentalisation was crucial to him producing a man of the match performance in the EFL Cup final days after receiving his first call-up for the Three Lions.
Burn was selected in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad last Friday at the age of 32, two days before Newcastle’s Wembley clash with Liverpool.
The centre-back was imperious as Newcastle ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy, and 56-year wait for a major trophy of any kind, with a 2-1 victory over the Premier League leaders.
Burn headed Newcastle in front just before half-time and was instrumental in ensuring the Magpies preserved their lead after Alexander Isak put them 2-0 in front.
Newcastle’s local hero did not have the opportunity to party too hard in the aftermath, Burn arriving at the England camp at St George’s Park on Monday as they prepare to face Albania and Latvia.
In an interview posted on the England team’s social media channels, Burn was asked how he kept his focus in a whirlwind week.
Burn said: “It was hard, I just had to put the England thing in a box for a while, just sort of concentrate on the final, but the second the final was done, my focus shifted.”
“I’ve had worse weeks.” 😅
Dan Burn sums up an incredible few days for club and country 👏 pic.twitter.com/CktVuLnKvz
— England (@England) March 17, 2025
Initially released by Newcastle at age 11, Burn started his professional career with Darlington before joining Fulham, taking in loan spells at Yeovil Town and Birmingham City prior to moves to join Wigan Athletic and then Brighton and Hove Albion.
He left Brighton to return to Newcastle in January 2022, and Burn identified the resilience he has shown in a career that has seen him play in each of the top five tiers of English football as key to him earning a late chance to impress at international level.
“[I’m] very grateful for the opportunity from the manager and the staff and just want to grasp it,” Burn added.
“It’s not been a very straight line my career, it’s been lots of ups and downs, but I think that’s made us quite resilient.
“I’ve always felt I’ve had the ability to play at this level, but it’s just about being given the opportunities, so I’m just looking to repay the faith the manager has shown.”
