Pain in Spain is mainly on the training pitch
TOON STAR INSISTING SPANISH TRIP WILL BE ALL ABOUT THE WORK
MO Diame has insisted Newcastle United’s players have only “hard work” on their mind during their stay in Spain this week, with partying not even on the agenda.
A booze ban has been slapped in place by the club’s back-room team - but Newcastle’s squad are well aware of the purpose of their visit.
Much has been made of Premier League teams taking midseason breaks, but Newcastle are determined to emerge from their trip to southern Spain with positive headlines.
The Magpies flew out to the Costa Blanca for a four-day training camp with an extended friendly game against Royal Antwerp, consisting of three 45 minute segments, taking place on Sunday lunchtime.
Newcastle fans will hope the trip is in stark contrast to West Brom’s recent trip to Barcelona and training was very much the order of the day as Benitez’s squad flew out to the La Finca resort in Algorf yesterday morning.
As United prepared for a tough few days, pictures of fellow relegation battlers West Ham also emerged with players tossing an American football around in beach clothes on Miami Beach.
Diame told the Chronicle: “We are going there to work. We need to keep up what we have been doing, which is hard work.
“As I have said before, we made some small mistakes a couple of months ago. We worked on that and the team is now doing well.
“We will go to Spain and keep working on the small details that will make the difference.”
Newcastle signed off for an enforced 21-day break with a 3-0 win over Southampton but, while the club are in a steady position, Diame knows the survival battle is far from over.
United now have a five-point advantage over third-bottom Crystal Palace with eight matches left to play.
Diame added: “We are on the right path, that is all.
“We know we are not safe yet because there are still eight games left.
“We are doing well and we need to keep it going. That Southampton game was a cup final for us, we had to win it and we did.
“We knew how important it was before the game and we achieved the three points we needed. We were happy with it.”
Newcastle have been working on the “small details” Diame mentioned since they threw away a 2-0 lead late on at AFC Bournemouth.
Things also did not go to plan during the tough away game at Liverpool.
However, Diame felt the home win over Southampton resulted in Newcastle producing the complete performance.
After storming into a 2-0 lead during the first half, the Magpies
had the three points sealed before the hour mark against the Saints.
Former Hull City and West Ham star Diame said: “We had the perfect start to the game with the early goal and that first goal helped us to take control of the game.
“It took away some of the pressure for us.
“We just kept going, scored a second and third and got a good win.
“We gave ourselves the stability to finish the game well.”
We are going there to work. We need to keep up what we have been doing, which is hard work Mo Diame