Nuno previews Newcastle | OneFootball

Nuno Espirito Santo will tell the players to ‘ignore the noise’ when we step out at what is bound to be a fervent atmosphere at St James’ Park on Sunday (4.30pm).

All eyes will be on Tyneside as we face the Toon in the first match following their takeover last week.

“It will be a great atmosphere, that’s for sure, and that’s something we’ll have to be aware of,” reasoned Nuno, speaking to Spurs TV after training on Friday. “At the same time, ignore it! Ignore the noise and focus on our task.

“Since the takeover, you can see the fans are happy, so we expect a tough atmosphere. It’s up to us to go there, realise it’s going to be tough but to play, to compete and to be solid."

Newcastle are yet to win in the Premier League this season and sit 19th after three draws and four defeats in their seven matches. However, performances have arguably deserved more - Southampton levelled in the 96th minute, they had the better of a draw at Watford and were always in the game last time out at Wolves, a 2-1 loss.

Nuno added: “It’s a good team, good players and, sometimes, the results don’t reflect what you do, but we look at Newcastle and know it’s going to be tough.”

Turning the clock back a fortnight, we asked Nuno about the importance of beating Villa last time out, arresting a run of three straight defeats in the Premier League after we’d won our first three.

“Yes, Villa was important, especially because we performed really well,” he said. “We were fantastic in terms of our organisation, compact, we reacted immediately when we conceded and finished the game really strong with fantastic football and good chances. That should be our starting point against Newcastle.”

Nuno's pre-Toon presser