Preparations for the 2022/23 campaign are officially up and running for Newcastle as they made a return to pre-season training on Friday, as Eddie Howe looks to get things underway ahead of his first full season in charge of the Magpies.
Three new signings have walked through the doors at St. James' Park in the form of Matt Targett, Nick Pope and Sven Botman, as the North-East outfit continues to assemble its squad following last year's multi-million-pound takeover.
And while more arrivals are still expected ahead of their season opener on August 6, Howe has opted to make the important decision of calling his players back for duty earlier than usual.
When Steve Bruce was at the helm last summer, the Magpies returned to pre-season five days later than Howe had opted for this year, and although the period of time between their first day of pre-season and their Premier League opener was actually longer than what it will be this year, Newcastle were often pulled up on their fitness levels last season.
Callum Wilson told Michail Antonio last December, via Chronicle Live: "I'd say the first game of the season (a 4-2 defeat against West Ham United), we weren't fit enough in terms of being ready for a Premier League fixture. We weren't fit enough and we weren't in the right place."
With little over a month to go until they kick-off the new campaign against top-flight newcomers Nottingham Forest at St. James' Park on August 6, Newcastle's players reported back for pre-season today, rather than the expected date of Monday, as Howe looks to whip his squad back into shape and avoid the same mistake that Bruce made.
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What’s more is that Howe ensured his players were handed their individual off-season programmes just 20 minutes after the final whistle of their 2-1 victory over Burnley on the final day of last season, after making it clear that he wanted them back fit, ready and in good health by the time pre-season came around.
Although the whole of the squad did not report back on Friday, with those who played international football following the end of the 2021/22 domestic campaign allowed extra time off, Howe is determined to continue making the right decision to continue the club’s dramatic resurrection.
While Newcastle's later return to pre-season last year may have had an effect on their fitness and performance levels for the start of the campaign, their lack of quality opposition during pre-season will have also done them no favours in preparing for the high-quality of the Premier League.
Although Covid restrictions meant that Newcastle's Portugal training camp was cancelled last summer, the quality of opposition picked at home in York City, Harrogate Town, Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham United, Burton Albion and Norwich City wasn't up to scratch and was never going to offer the type of test needed.
While there is a pre-season opener against local outfit Gateshead on July 9, the Magpies will then jet off to Austria and Portugal for training camps. There, they will face three opponents, including Bundesliga side Mainz and Benfica, before returning to St. James' Park to play Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao.
12 months on from last summer, Newcastle’s pre-season represents a much more professional and organised level of proceedings, which is all down to Howe, who is fully fixated on continuing his side's remarkable rise into the top half and beyond next season.
