The ‘uncomfortable’ making of Newcastle United’s season – as Eddie Howe prepares to go long haul

A year ago, Newcastle United were left with a headache.

The club’s planned pre-season visit to the USA fell through, and Eddie Howe was left wondering just where his team would end up.

"It’s a shame, very disappointed the tour was cancelled, as that had been in the pipeline for a long, long time,” said Eddie Howe last May.

“So it’s a huge disappointment to see it cancelled at the last minute.”

Instead of travelling across the Atlantic to Ohio for high-profile friendlies, Howe took his players to Austria for two low-key fixtures against 1860 Munich and Mainz 05.

There was also a higher-profile fixture away to Benfica where we got the first glimpses of what was to come from Miguel Almiron.

Away from the spotlight, new signings Nick Pope and Sven Botman were assimilated into the squad at the club’s Alpine base in Saalfelden, near Zell am See, along with Matt Targett, who had joined on a permanent deal following a successful loan at St James’ Park.

And it’s at the team’s quiet training pitches, a short cycle ride away from their well-appointed hotel, where the “foundations were laid” during a series of “uncomfortable” sessions in intense heat.

"Pre-season was hugely important, it always is,” said Howe. “That's when you set your marker on how you want to play.

“With that comes a physical cost to the players, so it wasn't a comfortable experience for them. They’re taken out of their comfort zone, they are pushed. That is where the foundations are laid.

“The attitude to that work was very good, and, I think, we've got fitter as the season has gone on.”

Improvement

At the time, Howe just wanted an improvement in the previous season’s 11th-placed finish.

Yet, 10 months later, the club is third in the Premier League, and guaranteed Champions League football, with one game left to play following Monday night’s goalless draw against Leicester City at St James’ Park.

Howe recently acknowledged that the club's visit to Austria was the best thing that could have happened to his team.

The work which the players quietly got through in Austria out of the spotlight, and the team bonding off the pitch in Saalfelden, prepared them physically and mentally for a challenging and long campaign.

“This (a top-four place) wasn’t in our sights at that moment,” said Howe, who took over a team which was winless and 19th in the Premier League in November 2021.

“We had escaped relegation impressively, from the position we were in, and we were hopeful of improving and staying away from danger, and growing the team to a position where maybe we could compete for Europe in a couple of seasons. So, we’ve shot ahead of schedule.

“There wasn’t one moment where, in my mind, I was thinking we could get to the top four. It sort of just grew on us. We were consistent. We kept winning games, and we kept dealing with setbacks really well."

Re-focus

Newcastle were also able to contend with the first mid-season World Cup – and a cup final.

“We came back brilliantly in that first game,” said Howe. “The only period where I felt we lost focus a bit was around the Carabao Cup final, and I think that’s only natural."

With one game left, focus will soon turn to this coming summer, when the club will visit the USA for the Premier League Summer Series.

United’s players, with last summer’s efforts fresh in the memory, know just what will be in store for them ahead of an even more demanding campaign.