Dan Byrne: Newcastle may have to play a little "dirtier" football, like Arsenal, which is both tough and beautiful

At 4 o'clock in the morning tonight, in the fourth round of the UEFA Champions League, Newcastle United will face Biba at home. Before the game, Newcastle defender Dan Byrne said the team needed to become more aggressive in the game and should learn from league leader Arsenal.

■ Newcastle lost 1-3 to West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday. They have not won any away league game since April this year. This also made Dan Byrne very frustrated.

Dan Byrne said: "It comes down to a mentality issue. The head coach will analyze this and I believe he will develop a plan to make us better and more winnable, maybe just to play a little bit 'dirtier'."

"A few years ago we were known for that - I don't want to say that word, but you know, 'a little bit of dirty play.' And now some of the new things have taken us away from that style of play."

"But when you play away from home, sometimes the most important thing is not to lose, to find ways to score points and stay competitive. As long as you win at home and are unbeaten on the road, that's a good thing, but we haven't done that recently."

■ Newcastle has recently won four consecutive games in all competitions at home, and will host Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League on Wednesday. Newcastle will be regarded as the favorites to win.

Byrne said: "When we first entered the Champions League, we were considered dark horses, and many teams did not give us enough respect. At that time, we could play very tough and direct, and that was our way. But as the team progressed, introduced higher quality players, and played better football, we gradually moved away from that style of play. But that style will always be in the game. It has its value."

"Arsenal does a good job of playing tough but also playing good football, which is why they are leading the table. Sometimes you need to be flexible, but especially in a game like last Sunday, if we could be more compact and resilient, the result might be different."