Newcastle United players have been stepping up their preparations for the new campaign ahead of returning for pre-season training in just 10 days' time.
Eddie Howe wanted to ensure his players had a proper break from the training ground following an eventful season and rather than bringing his squad back a little early, in the final days of June, the Newcastle head coach and his staff instead set July 1 as a return date. That means the majority of the squad will have had nearly six weeks off by then while those individuals who have been on international duty look set to return at a slightly later date.
That said, it did not take Howe long to start looking ahead to the new campaign and the players were handed their off-season programmes just 20 minutes after the final day win at Burnley last month. That did not come as a surprise to former Bournemouth captain Tommy Elphick, who previously told ChronicleLive that there will be 'no hiding place' for Newcastle players if they do not stick to their programmes because Howe will 'want to hit the ground running from day one'.
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Those players who were at the club when Howe took over during a two-week international break last November will already have an idea of what to expect, after being left on their haunches following some gruelling training sessions, but this looks set to be one of the most intense pre-seasons they have ever experienced. Although Howe and his staff won't send the players on aimless laps around the pitch, there will be double sessions; a lot of disguised running in his ball work drills; and football-specific fitness will be built up through large training games.
The reality is that the squad do not need any further motivation before their first pre-season under Howe. Competition for places has rarely been quite this intense at Newcastle in recent years and the players all know new signings will be coming through the door in the coming weeks.
Most of the squad have been training away from the cameras during their holidays, but Joe Willock and Allan Saint-Maximin have given an insight into their respective regimes on Instagram. Willock has been training alongside champion boxer Hamzah Sheeraz in California while Saint-Maximin was filmed sprinting on the streets of Miami on Monday in a bid to be ready to catch Howe's eye from literally that first day of pre-season.
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