Pardew pleased with Newcastle's fitness levels
Alan Pardew feels Newcastle are already reaping the benefits of the most gruelling pre-season regime of his time in charge of the club.
Newcastle's preparations for the 2013-14 campaign continued on Tuesday night with a 4-2 away win over Motherwell.
Goals from the French trio of Yoan Gouffran, Sylvain Marveaux and Moussa Sissoko and a further strike from Haris Vuckic capped a dominant performance against the Scottish Premier League side at Fir Park.
Pardew, who has been Newcastle manager since December 2010, thinks an intensive training programme in recent weeks is the catalyst behind such an impressive display.
He told the club's official website: "At the back end of last year I warned the players that pre-season would be the toughest of my time here, for sure, and one of the toughest I've ever done.
"And that was reflected (against Motherwell).
"That was our best conditioned team and we looked really sharp. The quality was also there and we needed to get a win because we want to get back in that winning habit.
"It was a great night with some fantastic performances and we played a little bit more relaxed."
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Newcastle start the upcoming Premier League season away at Manchester City on August 19 before home games against West Ham and Fulham.