Graeme Souness has admitted joining Newcastle United was “a mistake” and he should never have left Blackburn Rovers. The 69-year-old had big boots to fill on Tyneside, replacing Sir Bobby Robson after his controversial sacking in September 2004.
Rovers had enjoyed a fruitful spell under Souness, winning Premier League promotion in his first full season in charge. A surprise League Cup triumph the following year and a sixth-placed finish in 2003-04 made Souness an in-demand manager in English football.
However, to say his stint at St James’ Park did not work out would be an understatement. The fiery Scotsman had notable bust-ups with key first-team players and, despite spending around £50million - a sizable amount at the time - on new arrivals, left Newcastle sitting 15th when sacked in February 2006.
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Souness would soon move into punditry and recently revealed that the Toon job “put him off” a return to management. Almost two decades on, the former midfielder has opened up on his regret at leaving Blackburn.
“You look back on your career and I know I shouldn’t have left (Blackburn) when I left (for Newcastle),” Souness told BBC Lancashire. “You think the grass is greener and it wasn’t.
“I made a mistake, we had a decent team here, a team that was holding its own in the Premier League. We had won a trophy and qualified for Europe a couple of times. It (Blackburn) was a great place to work. I had great support. I quickly realised when I left that I had made a mistake, very quickly.
“You need a bit of luck, we had some luck with the players we brought in… fabulous players. I was lucky with the players I inherited too.
“I always felt the crowd was with us, we tried to play in the correct way. They are very happy memories. I had eight jobs and this, along with Glasgow Rangers, were my happiest times in management.”
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