Eddie Howe wants his players to produce "sharper" performances during their stay in Portugal in the next few days.
The Magpies face a training game behind closed doors before a clash with Benfica at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening. Howe is looking to bring a batch of his players up to the 90 minute mark with an eye on the opener against Nottingham Forest in early August.
But players will not be getting driven as hard as they were in the opening few days in Austria last week. After setting with a couple of new faces on board their flight from Newcastle in Alex Murphy and Santiago Muñoz there will also be the chance to look at some fringe players.
Howe told Chronicle Live: "We will certainly taper it down a bit. "The games will be intense but the training must be tapered down, we have to.
"You want the players to have a sharper feeling for the two games they have played in Austria."
United defenders Federico Fernandez and Jamal Lewis are also with the squad with Howe keen to get them to a decent fitness level to assess their chances. Lewis did not make the cut for the Premier League squad in January, but is the only survivor of those who missed out last winter.
Ciaran Clark has been loaned to Sheff United and Jeff Hendrick has gone to Reading. The wage bill was trimmed with the exit of £40,000 per week striker Dwight Gayle yesterday.
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