Diamond wants to keep Newcastle expectations in check

Steve Diamond's Newcastle side won two of their 18 Premiership games in 2024-25

Newcastle Red Bulls director of rugby Steve Diamond maintains that they must remain realistic about the prospects for the new season, despite the new investment in the club.

The takeover by Red Bulls has breathed life into the north east club, but with it only formally going through last month, it has been a race against time to bring in players for the new Prem campaign.

Newcastle have also finished bottom in each of the last three seasons, losing 37 of their last 39 league matches.

So Diamond recognises that turning that losing record around is not going to be a quick fix.

"The target is to be highly competitive and take it game by game," he said.

"There will be a lot of expectation and clubs coming here or us going to them saying, 'Let's shut this lot up, the new kids on the block'. I'm conscious of not appearing like that."

Newcastle begin at home to Saracens on Friday night (20:00 BST) with a team that includes four summer additions in returning captain George McGuigan, lock Jamie Hodgson, back-rower Amanaki Mafi and full-back Boeta Chamberlain with two more on the bench.

But there will be a drip-feed of new signings as the season goes on, meaning the Red Bulls will be a very much a work in progress and because of that, Diamond is reluctant to set a target about what he wants from this campaign.

"There's going to be a period over the next five weeks of the team getting to know each other under pressure," added Diamond.

"We then get a few more resources coming in - Tom Christie, Christian Wade, Simon Benitez Cruz.

"Newcastle Red Bulls will be a different team in 18 months time to what it is now. In two years time, I think that is when expectation can be put on the team."