What has hardly happened in Newcastle training since September

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This has been a very different season for Newcastle United, and one that has presented multiple new challenges.

Qualifying for the Champions League last season was an incredible achievement, but it always meant that this Newcastle United team were going into unknown waters.

For many of the players, this would be their first time competing in the Champions League. For others, it would be their first experience of Europe completely.

That is true of the manager as well, with Eddie Howe testing himself against teams on the continent for the first time in his career. And what a baptism of fire it was, with Newcastle being drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.

With the Magpies also going on a Carabao Cup run, the increase in fixtures has meant that day-to-day life at the training ground has been very different.

Newcastle have not properly trained as much this season

According to the Athletic, Newcastle United have barely trained at full intensity since September, which is when they kicked off their Champions League campaign.

Since then, it has been pretty much two games a week every week for Howe’s men. The schedule has been absolutely relentless, and it was made even tougher with some ridiculous cup draws.

While the shine has been taken off in the past few days following our Champions League and Carabao Cup exit, it has been a decent start to the season. But there is no denying that we probably would be playing even better if we had a bit more time on the training ground.

The lack of proper training has probably hindered the likes of Lewis Hall, who does not appear to have kicked on much since his arrival from Chelsea. Hopefully that happens in 2024 when the schedule is much less brutal.

Training with less intensity has had an impact, but it is a consequence of being in Europe. And that is where Newcastle want to be, there is no doubt about it.

Sure, we might be playing as well as last season if we weren’t in the Champions League, but the whole point of playing that well is to qualify for the competition in the first place.

It is just a situation that Newcastle are going to have to get to grips with, as European football will hopefully become a regular occurrence on Tyneside.