THE Newcastle Eagles came crashing down to earth a fortnight ago when their first game back in front of fans ended in a shock defeat to the Glasgow Rocks.

From there on, it’s been a struggle with two further losses to the Sheffield Sharks and the Manchester Giants.

The Eagles are known as the most successful British basketball team in history with a flurry over trophies since 2005. Players and coaches have come and gone but success has been engrained into them throughout the years.

However, just like it has for the entire globe, Covid has brought about some new challenges and a new way of working towards success.

Paul Blake is the Managing Director of the Newcastle Eagles and deals with everything from top to bottom at the club and admits it’s been a challenge to adapt.

He said: “This feels very strange because we were on a crest of a wave February 2020. The team was doing very well, we were just about to go into a trophy final and we had the Great Britain vs Germany game here the week before. That was a complete sell-out, GB won and qualified for the European Championships. It was all going right.

“Two or three sell out games in a row for the men so it was all going right. But then it all came crashing down as it did for everyone else really.

“You fast forward however many months it is now, probably sixteen or seventeen months, and it kind feels like it didn’t happen because we’re just ploughing into getting back to doing things in the normal manner.

“It’s a challenge when you’ve got off the bike for a year and a half and you try and get back on. To use a cycling cliché, we do feel like we’re peddling backwards a little bit. We’ll get the first game out the way and see how we go.

“I think with everybody, mindsets have changed over that period of time in terms of the way that you work and what you’re wearing to work, how staff are communicating with each other. You can feel it within the culture of the organisation. It’s titled a little bit and it probably doesn’t need to tilt back.

“We’re just going to have differently moving forward and that’s okay. I would be the type of owner or manager that would just want everybody here all the time to get the job done. I’m now a lot more relaxed. If you need to work from home to achieve the same goals, that’s absolutely fine.”

Blake and the Eagles fans will be looking to Head Coach Ian McLeod and the rest of his team to kick start their season, starting tonight when they host Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Cup.

While success has been part of the furniture at the club for a long time, those at the top of the club are well aware that it’s earned and not guaranteed to them.

Blake added: “It’s the golden question every year and ultimately we’ve been winning since 2005. We’ve got to rinse and repeat and do the same again.

“It’s a challenge because the team we put in 2005, with the exception of Darius Defoe, is different.

“The fact that Darius is still playing for us and he was here for the first trophy is incredible really.

“We’ve gone through cycles of teams across that period of time and for the longest part we’ve managed to consistently put winning teams out and Ian, in almost David Moyes style, has jumped into the seat but fortunately has come in and continued to win.

“It’s incredible really. We know what we to do off court, we know what we need to do on court. Winning is never guaranteed. Everyone needs to understand that.

“This is not a league that we are a Celtic or a Rangers in, I don’t believe. The records kind of suggest that but if you look at the wins and losses over the years, it shows you that, consistently, it’s a much more difficult journey than it looks like from the 27 trophies. It will continue to be difficult.

“London will be super tough, they’ve got the biggest budget in the league by quite stretch. Leicester have been our main nemesis for a number of years now. Sheffield are always there or there abouts. Plymouth last season were stacked as a team and there’ll be somebody else come up this season or maybe more than one so we’ve just got to try and be as competitive as we can be

“Our guys need to keep fit. That’s half the battle but we won’t hide behind injuries if they happen. If our best guys aren’t playing then it won’t happen.”