Newcastle United's training ground given 'subtle' Eddie Howe makeover ahead of major upgrade

The club last week submitted plans to North Tyneside Council for a much-needed extension and upgrade of its outdated facility in Benton.

"Modern professional football demands the provision of bespoke dedicated training facilities to enable teams to compete successfully at the highest levels nationally and internationally,” states the application.

"The current training facilities fall significantly below the Premier League, and perhaps even Championship, standards.

"As part of the continued efforts of NUFC to improve the facilities and environment for its players, and staff working on site, in the short term the club is looking to invest in redeveloping the current first team training ground by bringing it in line with other Premier League clubs and standards.”

In the longer term, Newcastle could well look to build an all-new facility on a new site – and a recent concept decision, which wasn’t commissioned by the club, caught the imagination of fans.

The club, which is 13th in the Premier League, hopes to start work on the extension later this year.

However, there have already been some small, and “subtle”, internal changes since Eddie Howe took charge in November.

Howe wanted to give the players a “better experience” during the long hours they spend at the complex.

“We've tried to just create an environment that was a little bit more welcoming, really,” said United’s head coach.

“We've made subtle changes to the training ground. There are limited things you can do when structurally you can't change, but you can maybe change the look and feel of it.

“A lick of paint here and there, new carpets – that's obviously the furnishings side – but then some (motivational) messages.

“We've changed some key things that the players see as they walk around the building just to try to make sure every space is utilised in a positive way, because you've got to remember the amount of time the players spend here is extreme.

“They must spend more time here than they do at home, and it's got to be a comfortable environment, but it's got to be a learning environment at the same time.

“We've just tried to show them that the club is going to change in a positive way for them, so they're going to have hopefully a better experience here.

“Now as I said, we can't do that structurally, and make the big changes that maybe we'd want to, but we can do it in subtle ways knowing that there's more to come, and that's what we've tried to do, just give them a taste that the club is going to move in a different direction.”

Howe and his staff have wanted a “lighter, brighter” environment at the cramped building, which was built 20 years ago.

Asked about the differences, Howe said: “Just from the things that I said. It's brighter, it's lighter.”

The club wants to build single-storey side and rear extensions to the east side of the outdated complex. The remodelled training ground would feature a larger dinning room, new players’ lounge and upgraded, improved rehabilitation suites. There will also be a hydro pool for players returning from injuries.

Plans for a “new state-of-the-art training complex”, unveiled in 2013 by then, were eventually shelved by then-owner Mike Ashley.