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Cathro: 'Hard Work Is Just Beginning'
Written by Newcastle Utd
Assistant coach Ian Cathro says there's plenty more hard work in store for Newcastle's players this pre-season
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
It's a week since Newcastle's players reported back for pre-season training, and Ian Cathro has warned them that the hard work is only just beginning.
The squad have already hit the ground running with two sessions a day at United's Benton base ahead of their first summer friendly against Gateshead on Friday night.
Their only day off so far came on Sunday and new head coach Steve McClaren has held a presentation outlining the standards that he expects from his players.
And Cathro, who was appointed as assistant coach alongside Paul Simpson last week, insists there will be no let up over the next few weeks.
"We're in pre-season and there's a lot of work that needs to be done," the former Valencia and Rio Ave assistant manager told nufc.co.uk.
"There are not many parts of this industry that are Monday to Friday, nine-to-five.
"This is all the time or none of the time. You're either in or you're out - and in order for us to achieve the things that we need to achieve, everyone needs to be in."
But alongside the running drills and gym circuits which are so crucial at this stage of the campaign, footballs have never been kept too far away.
Indeed, they were introduced on the very first day of pre-season, and Cathro smiled: "It's very difficult to play football without the ball - it's an important component of the game, so I think that's a very clear message that that's how you improve things and that's our way of working.
"We have a trip to America and by the time we return, we're going to be in a good position to know what needs to be done in the build up to the new season."
Newcastle United's 2015/16 training kit is now available in the official club stores at St. James' Park and the Metrocentre, and online here