Hanley Ready For Championship Challenge

By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor

New signing Grant Hanley has warned that the Sky Bet Championship cannot be underestimated as Newcastle United look to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The 24-year-old defender became Rafa Benitez's sixth signing of the summer when he arrived at St. James' Park on Thursday from Blackburn Rovers, who have been in the division since 2012.

And while the Magpies are the bookmakers' favourites to win promotion - just as they did in 2009/10, when they lifted the title with a stunning 102 points - Hanley insists it will be far from easy, particularly with the likes of Aston Villa, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Brighton and Wolves also targeting the Premier League.

"People underestimate it (the Championship)," he told nufcTV in his first interview as a Newcastle player. "Everybody says it's a good league but physically and mentally it's a test.

"The games come thick and fast and there's not much recovery time. They just keep coming and you just need to keep going.

"It's a tough, tough league and I think it catches people by surprise sometimes just how hard it is."

However, Hanley does believe that his new Club are well-equipped for the season ahead and added: "They've still got a Premier League squad that's playing in the Championship, so it's a good opportunity to bounce straight back - and I know that's the goal here, so I'm glad to be part of that."

Scotland international Hanley made his Blackburn debut as an 18-year-old and went on to make 201 appearances, scoring nine goals. He was their captain last season under Paul Lambert.

When asked to describe his style of play, he said: "It's a tough one, that.

"What you see is what you get, really. I'm a centre-half; I don't like putting tags or names on anything but I always give everything I've got and try to do my best for the team.

"I'm not one who's going to dribble past ten people and put the ball in the top corner so I like to think I make up for it in other ways, and talking and organising and being a leader is something I've always tried to have in my game.

"At the same time, I still feel I'm young enough, I've still got a lot to learn, so it's important to come here and realise it's a great chance to improve, keep working hard and getting better."

Having missed the start of Blackburn's pre-season campaign through injury, it remains to be seen whether Hanley makes his Newcastle bow in Saturday's friendly at Lokeren.

But he said: "Now (the deal has) eventually got done, I'm desperate to kick on and get going.

"I've not played any minutes this pre-season - although I've done a lot of training I've not played any games - so first and foremost it'll be good to get some minutes under my belt to get ready for the season and then it's a chance to put a marker down and show what I've got."

You can watch the full nufcTV interview with Grant Hanley here