Moncur welcomes fans with dementia and lifelong illnesses for tour of St. James' Park

Moncur was on hand for a special day where the fans were given a bespoke tour of the stadium, before watching the action as Newcastle United secured Champions League football against Leicester City.

The members from Sporting Memories, a charity which aims to reduce isolation and improve mental and physical wellbeing, were shown around the changing rooms and media suite before walking out of the tunnel. The members heard from Moncur as he drew on his memories playing on the hallowed turf, reliving his time as a young apprentice through to facing some of the world's best players in years gone by.

"The pitch is incredible now - it's like a carpet and has changed a fair bit since my day!," he said.

"When we were young apprentices the groundsman used to come and find us and tell us we had to help with the pitch. That was a like a training session itself, pulling the big farmer-style drums to flatten the pitch because the slope was very big back in those days and at times it was just earth.

"Seeing the pitch and being in St. James' Park always brings back great memories for me playing in big games against players like George Best, Bobby Charlton or Denis Law. Whenever I come to games and speak with fans of the same generation they always tell me about their favourite memories or games I played in and that's nice because it reminds me of the good times that I had here."

Club partner Sportsbreaks.com partners with Sporting Memories to help the charity members relive and create new memories in some of the world's best sporting arenas, such as St. James' Park.

The event was the first activation of the partnership between Sportsbreaks.com and Sporting Memories and it was fitting that it could take place at Newcastle, with Bob Moncur explaining that he couldn't wait to be part of the day and help make it a more special for those attending.

"I see a lot of fans of older generations through the club's Memory Café which supports fans in many ways, including talking about games gone by and I love visiting this and doing events like this," he added. "I'm very lucky, I think, because I say I have one of the best jobs at the club, because I get to see fans and talk about football and it always makes people happy."

Whilst Bob was explaining the good times from decades ago, he also believes that the next generation of Newcastle fans are seeing the start of something special with Eddie Howe bringing Champions League football back to the North East.

"I'm really looking forward to next season and this season will be talked about for quite some time," he said. "Eddie Howe and his team have done a brilliant job. When you look back at other seasons you often look at games that stand out but this season there have been so many, especially here at St. James' Park.

"I look at the team now and it's so different from my day, they are so fit, strong and a big team and we are tough to come up against. The pace and the intensity is incredible and it's a different ball game now."

To find out more about Newcastle United's partnership with Sportsbreaks.com and to find your next sporting break in either the UK or internationally, visit www.sportsbreaks.com.