Packham feels positive ahead of season conclusion

Packham spoke to nufc.co.uk ahead of Sunday's FA Women's National League Division One North fixture against Barnsley Women at Coach Lane, and believes the Yorkshire side will cause Langley's side some problems.

"I imagine (Barnsley) will turn up and give us a difficult game as always," she said. "But we want to win and finish our season on a high."

The Lady Magpies' clash with Barnsley follows last weekend's record-breaking match against Alnwick Town Ladies at St. James' Park, which saw more than 22,000 supporters enter the stadium to cheer on the Lasses.

"The atmosphere was so surreal," Packham said. "The crowd was mad. They got behind every challenge and every attack. It was amazing.

"It's been a bit weird to process. I'm still taking it all in. It was an unreal experience and one I'll never forget."

The centre-back shared her pride in being able to inspire young girls in the North East to follow in the footsteps of her and her team-mates.

She said: "For us and the whole of women's football in the North East, Sunday was more than just 90 minutes of football. It showed young girls that it is possible for a women's team to play in a stadium like that and get a crowd like we did. When I was younger there was nothing like that."

Despite the euphoria of that historic weekend, Packham and the rest of the Lady Magpies are now firmly focused on the next fixture.

"We're now preparing for (Sunday)," she said. "(Langley) has made it clear that it's just one last game after what has been a rollercoaster of a season, and I think it is just a case of carrying on working as hard as we have done throughout and playing our football."

Despite narrowly missing out on the league title to Liverpool Feds, Langley's side has enjoyed a remarkable season.

The Lady Magpies have achieved their best goal difference ever, progressed further in the Women's FA Cup than they have done for more than a decade, and played at St. James' Park for the first time in their history.

Reflecting on the impressive season, Packham said: "Both personally and as a team this season has had huge highs and fairly low lows, but we've all stuck together as a team. It feels like a little family.

"We've done the best we could and set massive records, which a few seasons ago we'd never have thought would be possible. We've just got to unwind and prepare to go again next year."

Looking ahead to next year, the stalwart centre-back is targeting league success.

"Next season is definitely our year for promotion," she declared. "We've just missed out this year and with another huge push next season I'm sure we can get where we want to be."

Newcastle United Women host Barnsley Women at Coach Lane on Sunday. Kick-off is at 2pm (BST) and admission is £3 for adults and £1 concessions.