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Charlie Bennett

Graeme Souness on regret at leaving Blackburn Rovers to join Newcastle United

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.

READ MORE: 'It's a beautiful thing' - What the new Newcastle United feels like for players, staff and fans

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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