Newcastle United are off to Austria for pre-season and Eddie Howe could not be happier
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe enjoyed the dream pre-season in 2022 when he took his troops to Saalfelden in Austria.
Back then, and before the arrival of key commercial figures such as Peter Silverstone, Howe was able to almost have a free hit at a sporting preparation for the new season ahead. A training camp with the backdrop of the Alps provided a stunning and dramatic location for Howe and his players.
But the clean air and fresh streams would offer more than just a picturesque trip to remember for the squad. Howe had everything he wanted with double sessions each day, a secluded training HQ used by Liverpool the year before and two friendly matches against 1860 Munich and Mainz 05.
Players would happily cycle to training from the hotel while Howe even had his own groundstaff jetted in to look after the training pitches and match day surfaces. The music blared out in the sunshine as the players got to work beneath the Leogang Mountains. There was a wide range on offer, but just to remind us of home, Lindisfarne's Fog on the Tyne, Busker's Coming Home Newcastle, and Junior Turner's Banks of the River Tyne were given a spin.
There was also a mumbled version of Neil Diamond's rejuvenated Euro 2020 hit Sweet Caroline as the players slipped their boots on. United are working hard but also playing hard too it seems. Indeed, golf facilities and a go-kart track at the hotel meant after training activities were plentiful.
It is a far cry from the more commercial pre-season summers Howe experienced in 2023 and 2024 after long haul journeys to the USA and Japan. Not to mention the awkward end of season trip to Australia in 2024 that was used to bolster the kitty for PSR.
Howe has never complained about the long trips and knows they are part of the process if Newcastle are to afford top notch stars like Anthony Elanga. But this summer he will get the best of both worlds.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe
The Magpies jet off to the Far East for games against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and a K-League XI during stops in Singapore and South Korea. But first Howe's players will spend a week in Austria for another week of hard work.
Speaking about the trip to Austria last time out, Howe told Chronicle Live: "We'll be having a team meal at the end. And we eat together at the hotel every day. The majority of the trip has been focused on work, apart from the go karting. "It's been training, double sessions, intense.
"Any down time the players have had they have wanted to go away and rest because it's been that difficult. And also you can't forget the heat here. It is really intense it wasn't so much on Friday. But when the sun shines you know it here."
Back in 2007 when Newcastle visited Austria under Sam Allardyce, the coaching staff ran up a huge bar bill which irked Mike Ashley, while the backroom team dined away from the hotel and left players to their own devices.
But there is a strict no booze policy under Howe and he said in 2022: "The lads have to be very disciplined with what they're doing. This is the time of year when if you aren't resting properly between sessions you will notice it."
Given Newcastle finished fourth in 2022/23 and reached the Carabao Cup final, it bodes well for United moving into this pre-season. There will be no media glare this time in Austria with Press opportunities taking place in the Far East instead.
But Howe will be eager to get his team focused again with a pre-season trip to Austria top of his wish-list ever since that successful jaunt in 2022.