Dan Burn gave up a penalty during the heated eight-goal thriller against the Hatters.
Eddie Howe says he must consider “every aspect” when selecting his Newcastle United team, and Dan Burn remains an important member of the group.
Burn was up against the quickness of Chiedozie Ogbene and was forced to concede a penalty that gave Luton the lead at St James’ Park in the 4-4 draw on Tyneside. Howe replaced the Blyth native shortly after, but says he has been one of his better purchases since taking over as manager.
After hearing Burn was chastised by some onlookers, Howe stated after the game: “Dan has been absolutely terrific since he joined the football club. He contributed significantly to our successful season last year, as well as our strong defensive record.
“Four days ago, I thought he was magnificent against Aston Villa. He was a big part of why we played so well.”
There have been numerous calls to start Tino Livramento ahead of Burn, but Howe has stated that both players remain part of his plan.
He said: “Tino is an outstanding player, and no doubt will have a huge bearing on our future. But as I said earlier, there’s more than one aspect of the game to think about when I pick the team.”
Howe dismissed any suggestion that Newcastle should be thrashing clubs like Luton, saying, “It’s never that straight cut. Luton are a really good squad, and we knew set-plays would be a major threat, so we had to prepare for that. It is more than just one discipline. We let up the opening goal off a set-play.
“Yes, they were a threat down that right-hand side, and we didn’t deal with it well enough. That’s certainly something for us to focus and reflect on. But defensively all day, really, we were never totally secure.”
