Ayoze Perez is confident that Newcastle’s Spanish training camp will ensure they are fully prepared for the “massive” clash with Huddersfield in a fortnights time.
United travelled to southern Spain for four days on Thursday ahead of the six-pointer with David Wagner’s side on 31 March at St James’ Park.
Victory against the Terriers – which would be a third home win in a row – would push Newcastle further towards safety having opened up a five point gap to the bottom three after beating Southampton last weekend to jump up to 13th in the Premier League table.
Perez, who was excellent against the Saints, admits going three weeks without a competitive fixture isn’t ideal but has no doubt that Rafa Benitez will have the players focused and ready for Huddersfield.
“It would have been better for us to have a (Premier League) game before the international break, when you can rest a little bit,” the Spaniard told the Northern Echo.
“But we have 21 days without football, and this training camp in Spain is a great idea. We’re going to play a game that will keep us fit.
“It’s not the same as a Premier League, but we have to adapt ourselves and think about doing some great training sessions and being ready for another massive game against Huddersfield.”
Newcastle will play Royal Antwerp in a friendly this Sunday, with the match against the Belgian side set to be played over 135 minutes.
