Mourinho is one of the best managers in the game, but has never won a match at SJP, and Kieron Dyer has revealed the reason why, after talking to the Portuguese at Soccer Aid last weekend.
Dyer said:
I’ve just been at SoccerAid and Mourinho says that he is glad Newcastle are down because he’s never won against them yet
When I was there, he said to me about Newcastle: ‘The support whenever they play my teams, they’re so behind their team and the fans are unbelievable and it makes it so difficult for away teams.’
It seemed like he was happy he wouldn’t have to worry about going to St James’ Park next year!
When Mourinho’s saying he’s glad you’re down because he worries about visiting St James’ Park, then that tells you all you need to know about how amazing it is to play for Newcastle when things are going well.
When everyone’s on side and on board, there’s no place like it to play.
Dyer also went on to praise the atmosphere at St James’, and summed up the crowd in the North-East:
I always say, when it’s not going well, Newcastle is one of the most vicious places to play.
But when it is going well, there’s no place to play quite like at St James’ Park.
There’s the cliché that the fans are like the 12th man, but that does apply to Newcastle.
When you’re playing well up here, it’s like a force that’s driving you on.