NEWCASTLE have unveiled their new-look players tunnel – with fans quick to call it “one of the worst in the Premier League”.
The Toon have given the players’ entrance to the iconic St James’ Park turf a lick of paint.
The move came after the Magpies sealed £55million-a-year’s worth of kit deals.
Newcastle’s official strip is now manufactured by adidas, rather than Castore, while Sela are the new sponsors in place of Fun88.
The deals are worth £30m and £25m a season – and Toon officials reacted by updating their tunnel.
Either side of the tunnel still has pictures of cheering fans, but now they’re wearing the new kit – and there are far fewer of them, leading to a “calmer” feel.
Elsewhere the “We Are United, We Are Ready” lettering stands out, having previously been masked by supporters.
The gold detailing on the “Howay The Lads” message – front-and-centre in the tunnel – has also been removed, leaving a purely black and white colour scheme.
However, supporters have been left wildly underwhelmed by the update.
One posted on X: “Honestly compared to other clubs tunnels, I think we may have one of the worst.”
Another asked: “Worse – why make the club badge and text smaller?”
A third wrote: “I preferred the chaos of the previous one, seemed so hype. Now it seems calm.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Newcastle’s Alexander Isak talks to Alan Shearer about Champions League desires ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368367823112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“Ngl this kinda reflects performance shift from start of season.”
One added: “I’ve never been a fan of the faces of supporters down the tunnel. Wish they’d change that.”
Newcastle players will have to wait to enjoy the new tunnel, though, as – having scraped past Birmingham in the FA Cup at St Andrew’s – their next match is the Premier League clash away to struggling Manchester City.
Sunday February 23 will be the Toon’s next home clash, as they host high-flying Nottingham Forest in a crunch top-four showdown.
After a huge clash at Anfield to play league leaders Liverpool, they then host Brighton in the fifth-round of the FA Cup.
Next month, Newcastle will look to end their incredible trophy drought – going back to 1955 – in the Carabao Cup final against the Reds at Wembley.