Nobbs: Newcastle promotion would be 'job done' in career

Jordan Nobbs has described helping Newcastle United secure promotion to the Women's Super League for the first time as the ultimate achievement of her career. The 33-year-old midfielder, who has 71 caps for England and won 12 major trophies with Arsenal, said such a feat would represent "job done" in her professional journey.

Nobbs joined Newcastle last year as their marquee signing and made a solid start in the second tier, with the club finishing sixth. Born in Durham, she began her career at Sunderland but, like many current and former Lionesses, had to move south as the women's game became fully professional.

A homecoming with a purpose

Speaking to BBC Sport, Nobbs expressed her deep motivation to bring top-flight women's football to the North East. "I've always said it would be like job done, it really would," she said. "There wouldn't be many tick boxes that I think I could possibly do. As soon as I heard from Newcastle [I knew] that is exactly what I wanted to do."

She added: "To get a North East team - which we all had to leave back in the day - promoted, it would be an achievement that I would love to have. We're praying it happens."

Learning from last season

Nobbs acknowledged that "too many draws" held Newcastle back last season, but the club is not hiding its ambitions after a busy transfer window. Under head coach Tanya Oxtoby, who previously managed Northern Ireland and worked with Emma Hayes at Chelsea, Nobbs believes the team is improving.

"I know we said it last season but I've always said things don't happen overnight. We had a lot of changes," Nobbs added. "But [promotion] is our goal and you have to say that out loud. A lot of stuff we did last season, we don't want to go too far away from."

Embracing a leadership role

Off the pitch, Nobbs is embracing her responsibilities as one of the most experienced players in the squad. She said her team-mates have jokingly labelled her a "legend" of women's football, which has helped her settle into a mentoring role.

"I try to still be myself but obviously give as much experience as I can off the pitch. I've played a lot of games now so you do want to listen to that," she said. "The girls straight away made jokes about me being a legend so they kind of made it a nice feeling rather than a pressure thing. It just allowed me to step into that type of role. There's a balance of not being too over the top because I've still got to perform."

Newcastle's season begins at home to Wolves on 6 September at 14:00 BST.