Newcastle: Raisbeck Q&A – Why are the Magpies struggling with fitness?

The third part of our Q&A with BBC Radio Newcastle’s Matthew Raisbeck focuses on the physical condition of the squad at St James’ Park.

Nigel asked: Eddie Howe says Newcastle are a bit behind in fitness levels when explaining away our lethargic start. Why might they be unfit compared with others – it seems strange?

Matthew replied: I agree with you. One of the hallmarks of Howe’s Newcastle has been their high levels of fitness and, despite being unbeaten, they have definitely not been at their dynamic best in the first month of the season.

The manager says this is in part down to some players arriving back late for pre-season after being on international duty during the summer. So it has been good to see Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and especially Sandro Tonali get significant minutes for their countries over the past week.

It will also be interesting to find out how the new head of performance James Bunce is helping with this. It is something I intend to ask Howe about at his next news conference.