Medical Insider: Newcastle United taking ‘gamble’ as ‘big’ news confirmed
Newcastle United are taking a “gamble” by going to Saudi Arabia for a warm-weather training camp in December.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Newcastle confirmed last week (21 October) that the club will travel to Saudi Arabia for a week at the beginning of December for a “mini pre-season”.
They took a similar trip in January and followed it up with a run of four wins in their next five Premier League games.
“Just the togetherness and morale is one of the biggest things,” Dinnery told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“We talk about the money that has been spent at Newcastle and there’s no denying that. But we haven’t really gone out and bought headline names that we potentially could have.
“We talk about the willingness to fight for each other in the squad and those relationships and bonds are brought about by yes, results on the pitch and the warm weather training camp is an opportunity for that group to become a lot more close-knit.
“Forget about the distractions of daily life, this is an opportunity for the group to train and only focus on what needs to happen in that second half of the season.
“As well as that, who doesn’t want the chance to get a bit of sun on your back when the chances are we’re going to be in sub-zero conditions, certainly in Newcastle, in December?
“Of course, it’s a gamble and there are no guarantees.
“If the weather is really bad [in Newcastle], you are stuck indoors and are limited to what sessions you can run. In warm-weather training, you don’t have those restrictions in place.
“You’re also able to put in a couple of games in there which there is no guarantee of in England.
“It gives you that little bit of insurance. If you have a plan and strategy for your squad so they can cope with the second half of the season, you will be confident of delivering it.”
In other news, Newcastle United are lining up a club-record £60million contract offer.