Callum Wilson says the Newcastle United squad have grown in confidence and pushed away "anxieties about relegation" having enjoyed a good run of form in the Premier League to inch closer to securing their top-flight status.
The Magpies, who are currently on a mid-season break to Dubai, lost their last two fixtures before the international break - at Everton and Chelsea - but enjoyed a run of nine games without defeat in the Premier League beforehand. Such impressive form under Eddie Howe saw the Magpies rise from 19th to 14th in the league standings.
Newcastle were four points adrift of safety at the start of that run of results, now they find themselves nine points clear of the drop zone and slowly working their way towards securing their spot in the top-flight for next season.
Wilson has faced his own struggles this season having suffered from a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign and now being treated for a calf issue. Yet the Magpies forward has spoken openly on The Footballer's Football Podcast on BBC Sounds about the delight taken from proving wrong any pundits who had ear-marked Newcastle as relegation certainties.
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He said: "When you are on a bad run as a team [these trips] can be beneficial as it can bring a team together; it can galvanise you, make you want to run through brick walls for each other and then you can see results. But, likewise, the situation we are in is where there is so much more work to be done but it's like a mini reward for how we have performed over the past 10-12 games.
"It's not a holiday, we are training out here. So it's important we remember and know that more work needs to be done and it's not over yet. We need to statistically make sure we stay in the Premier League but we also want to climb as high as we can as you are judged on where you finish.
"People wrote us off early in the season. If, as a player, you listen to that it can start to seep in and you can start doubting yourself. We didn't do that. We've cleared any anxieties about relegation and we've gained a confidence.
"You can see that from the boys games by game. If we go behind we can come back, we are winning games. We are scoring goals. People are chipping in all over so it's the signs of the team going in the right direction. This trip is another bonus for that."
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