Eddie Howe confirms ‘incredible’ Newcastle United training ground upgrade

Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players are beginning to feel the benefits of the improvements to the training ground.

Construction work started in the summer to upgrade and extend the club’s Benton facility, which “fell significantly below the Premier League and perhaps even Championship standards”.

Naturally, the building work has caused some disruption, although that has failed to impact results on the pitch with the Magpies currently sitting third in the Premier League table.

The main area of work is the extension to the side of the building, which will house a hydrotherapy pool, plunge pools and a new players changing room.

Howe revealed before the World Cup that the new changing room is now accessible to the players, who also have a new eating area to enjoy.

Reflecting on the progress during the five-and-a-half-week break, Howe said: “Yes, the training ground has changed. We now have a proper eating area for the players which looks fantastic.

“I’m really, really pleased with the outcome of that and the difference it makes to our working environment has been incredible.

“I’m really, really pleased with how the training ground is now taking shape. We’re still very early stages with a changing room and a place to eat so we’re still adding bits and pieces to that. But that will be transformative, that will change a lot in terms of how we feel and how we work there today.

“We’re enjoying preparing now for the competitive games which is what it’s all about.”

Speaking in October, Howe said: “We’ve had no benefits for the moment, almost the opposite. We’re in a very cramped space, but hopefully next week, I think it is, the players will go into their changing room, so that’ll be a massive lift for them, not so much for the staff, yet, but hopefully we’ll see the benefits in a few weeks.

“The players are the priority. They’ll go into their new changing room, which is a much bigger space, and it’ll mean that they’re all together.

“At the moment, they’re in three different rooms, which isn’t conducive to the togetherness we want, really. They’ll go into one room all together, and I think that’ll be really good for them.”

It is hoped the training ground work will be completed by the end of the season. Newcastle United’s owners maintain that the aim is to build a new facility elsewhere in the future but felt it was imperative to upgrade Benton in the meantime.