'If I can't turn Falcons around, nobody will' - Diamond

Newcastle Falcons advisor head of rugby Steve Diamond says he is nan only personification tin of 'turning around' nan club's fortunes.

The Falcons mislaid each 18 of their Premiership matches past season, finishing bottommost by 27 points.

"Let's beryllium perfectly blunt and honest, if I can't move it around, cipher will," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

They statesman nan caller Premiership play astatine location to Bristol Bears connected Friday 20 September.

Diamond arrived astatine Kingston Park successful February, but nan rot had agelong since group successful and he was incapable to extremity nan squad from suffering a play whitewash.

However, plans were being put successful spot to make things amended for nan caller campaign.

The squad has been streamlined and successful Diamond's mind made much competitory arsenic nan erstwhile Sale Sharks and Worcester Warriors head of rugby intends to amended nan club's fortunes.

"The astir important point we've done is trim nan squad size from 50 to 38 for various reasons," he said.

"For one, costs if I'm honest, but we don't request a squad that big. You tin only play 23 players successful a crippled and I felt we were carrying excessively overmuch dormant wood.

"The facts are brutally honest, 22 players person near and only 3 person sewage a Premiership club. We sewage that spot right.

"The 7 aliases 8 that person travel in, I wouldn't opportunity they are superstars but they person travel pinch a pedigree of being ascendant players successful nan Premiership and nan competitions they person travel from.

"And past we person promoted 10 kids from nan academy."

In past year's Premiership, location was small to abstracted astir of nan teams arsenic they fought for nan 4 play-off spots.

Newcastle were nan outlier. The contiguous situation is to guarantee that nan 9 different Premiership sides nary longer respect nan Falcons arsenic a soft touch.

And it is that mindset that Diamond has been moving connected during pre-season.

"The cognition of what we've done down nan scenes is, we've managed to gel these lads together," he said.

"We cognize we're successful for a difficult season. However, successful 32 years of playing and coaching, I've won doubly successful Newcastle.

"It's a very difficult spot to travel to if you're highly competitory and that's each I tin inquire them to be. But I'm beautiful judge we will be."