Eddie Howe has revealed his Newcastle United World Cup stars turned down the chance of a holiday after spending time in Qatar.
But Brazil ace Bruno Guimaraes and Switzerland star Fabian Schar, along with England's Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope and Callum Wilson all wanted to play their part for the Magpies at the earliest opportunity. All five have featured since the World Cup for Newcastle and while Wilson did miss the Leicester game, he was involved in the narrow cup win over Bournemouth.
Speaking about the commitment of his players, with some World Cup players deciding to take a break this month, Howe said: "All you can do is go with your gut instincts in terms of your experience – and what you see day to day.
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"I’ve seen a group in the break that has been focused on their training. "Our standards have been very high, and also the biggest thing for me is the World Cup players wanted to come back straight away and play.
"There was no hesitation. I gave them every opportunity to have a break as I was mindful of fatigue, but they all wanted to play, and they were desperate to come back and be part of the group. That speaks volumes for the feeling internally."
Howe's team have soared to second in the Premier League and cemented their place in the Champions League places with six straight wins. When asked what he has admired most, Howe said: "Probably the consistency to win that number of games is very difficult in the Premier League, because of the standard of teams.
"Coming to grounds like this and performing isn’t easy. The mentality has to be spot on to improve that consistency. We’re in a good place, but we know we have to work hard to maintain that."
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