JACK’S BACK IN TOON
JACK
Colback makes his first return to Newcastle today since being forced out but doesn’t hold a grudge against their “unbelievable” fans.
Colback was hurt when his hometown club showed him the door after Rafa Benitez omitted him from their Premier League squad.
He has since resurrected his career at Nottingham Forest after successive loans at the City Ground starting in 2018 before a permanent switch two years ago.
Now Colback is looking forward to going back to St James’ Park and is delighted Newcastle’s prospects are on the up after their Saudi takeover last October.
Colback pinpointed the moment he realised the Toon Army were special on the final day of the 2015/16 season when Newcastle beat Spurs 5-1 at home despite being doomed to the Championship.
Colback said: “I loved playing there, the stadium is amazing. You go and it takes your breath away a bit.
“They are in a good place and the fans deserve a bit of success. The time I was there, they were great.
“Even the season in the Championship, the fans were unbelievable. We were selling out stadiums and taking 5,000-6,000 away from home. They live and breathe football.
Strangest
“The best game and probably the strangest one for me was when we played Tottenham at home and we had just been relegated.
“I was thinking: ‘the fans are naturally going to be annoyed and we might get some stick’ but it was the complete opposite.
“It was a sell-out with 50,000-odd and one of the best atmospheres I ever heard. To get that from fans towards a team which had just been relegated was a surprise to me. It was the moment you think: ‘it is a proper club’.
“You don’t get many special moments in football and that will be up there for me as a memory.
Colback is relishing another crack at the top-flight after admitting he feared his days at the top could be over when ruthlessly shown the door by Benitez.
“The way it was dealt with could have been better.
“It was Rafa really when he left me out completely but it was a long time ago.”
Forest have signed 12 players since going up and expectations are high among Steve Cooper’s squad.
Colback said:“We are not just here to take part and make the numbers up. It will be nice to test myself again at that level.”