The reasons behind Newcastle United's trip to Dubai following Everton match

Due to the FA Cup fixtures and international break, Newcastle face 17 days without a match until they travel to Tottenham Hotspur on April 3 (4:30pm kick-off).

It is set to be the second time head coach Eddie Howe has taken his squad abroad for a training camp having previously travelled to Saudi Arabia back in January.

That trip proved to be a successful one for The Magpies in terms of team bonding and fitness as they returned to England and put together a nine game unbeaten run including six wins out of seven matches.

The run saw Howe’s side climb out of serious relegation danger and up to 14th in the table, nine points clear of the bottom three.

And the United boss is hoping the trip to Dubai will yield similar results with nine games remaining once they return.

“[The] plan is to try and not recreate exactly what we did but the time is almost exactly the same between games so we want to try and mirror that as much as we can,” he said ahead of the Everton game.

"We played two games, one in the training ground and one in Saudi. We utilised various techniques with a little bit of rest and a lot of hard work as well and we came back and went on a good run so we'll be looking to do the same again.”

Newcastle will be training at the state-of-the-art Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex in Dubai, which will also cater to the rehabilitation of the squad’s injured players such as Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier.

Howe also emphasised the importance of taking these sort of trips abroad whenever possible during the season.

“It's hugely important, it's a long, long season,” he added. “And a long season at the same place can sometimes leave you a little bit stale.

"We thought it was a good time to freshen things up for the group in a different environment.

"Forced time together does create new friendships and form the spirit you need for a relegation battle and still need. It's something I've always done throughout my management career and it has always had positive results.”

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