Newcastle coach reveals what he told his Under-23 players before Sunderland rout
Ben Dawson has a simple message for his Newcastle United players before the Under-23 derby.
Dawson's side beat Sunderland 5-0 at St James's Park on Monday night in a Premier League 2 Division Two fixture.
Luke Charman scored twice and Callum Roberts, Owen Bailey and Elias Sorensen also found the net.
Dawson, United's Under-23 coach, said: "We said to the lads before the game in the meeting that 'it doesn't get much better than this', in terms of Monday night under the lights (at St James's Park).
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"The pitch was immaculate, little bit of rain beforehand.
"Obviously, the performance made it into an even better one. It was a terrific all-round performance."
Dawson had demanded "focus, intensity and enthusiasm" from his players.
"We asked for focus, intensity, a bit of enthusiasm," he added. "Like we said, it doesn't get much better than this. If you can't enjoy tonight, I don't know what will get you going.
"On top of that, you're asking them to show the quality they've got, and I thought they did for large spells.
"Everything that we've asked of the players since they've come back in, I thought there was good examples of that."