Eddie Howe has revealed that Newcastle United players have come back 'as fit as we've seen' for the start of pre-season.
The squad were all handed individual programmes to carry out during their summer breaks ahead of what promises to be a gruelling campaign in the Premier League, the Champions League, the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. In fact, Newcastle could end up playing 29 games in the opening 140 days of the campaign if the Magpies reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. No wonder the players have been keeping on top of their fitness while on holiday in locations across the globe.
Howe and his staff have tried to replicate last summer's packed pre-season schedule after it ultimately served Newcastle well during a 46-game campaign. In fact, this year's set of friendlies looks even tougher with matches against Gateshead, Rangers, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Brighton, Fiorentina and Villarreal all lying in wait in the coming weeks - and that is before you even get onto the dreaded shuttle runs.
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Howe wanted his side to be 'fit and ready to go' from the off and those players who returned to Benton on Sunday, such as Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, Jacob Murphy and Allan Saint-Maximin, certainly looked sharp.
"The lads have come back as fit as we've seen," the Newcastle boss told NUFC TV. "We keep fitness records going back right back to my first season in management and they're the best we've seen. I'm delighted with the players' application. To be honest, I didn't expect anything else from the group."
Newcastle enjoyed a remarkable campaign last season, after finishing in the top four for the first time in 20 years, but, clearly, the players are already desperate to build on that and come back even stronger.
