'Togetherness' is key - Dickman on under-21s' Spanish training camp

United's second-string, along with Newcastle's under-18 side, travelled to Pinatar in the early hours of Tuesday morning ahead of a six-day training camp, with United's youngsters facing La Liga outfit Elche CF in a pre-season friendly on Saturday evening (kick-off 7pm local time).

Dickman revealed his squad have been put through the paces in the hot weather but has been pleased with the early efforts of his team as well as discussing the main factors he aims to gain from the trip to southeastern Spain.

"I think the obvious one would be the togetherness of the team," Dickman told nufc.co.uk. "There's also a lot of things we want to focus on when we have the ball and when we haven't. 

"We've been demanding of them and we expect them to come away from the trip knowing that this is how we are going to be playing, what we need to be doing and the key fundamentals of how we're going to go into the season.

"It's not an easy training camp in terms of what we've done. Yesterday was a particularly long day so it was challenging in a number of ways but the group have done well and done all that we ask of them.

"It's not just work we're doing on the pitch; there's a comprehensive programme being pulled together by the staff with a lot of things going on. There's training then workshops, meetings and communications individually.

"On the grass, it's been good but we want more and off the pitch too. The lads are showing that they're bonding well together and things are slowly going in the direction we want.

"When you're back home in England, you come in to train, work and people vanish off home after they've done what they need to do but we're here (in Spain) all the time and I can already see the lads mixing and bonding well."

United's under-21 side begin their 2022/23 pre-season campaign against Elche on Saturday and Dickman, who was appointed the young Magpies' head coach in October 2021, is expecting a difficult test against senior opposition.

The Spanish side finished 13th in the Spanish top-flight last term, holding Champions League winners Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu in January, but the 43-year-old believes the contest will prove beneficial regardless of the result.

"It's going to be a really, tough challenge but a one that we've got to be excited about," the UEFA Pro-Licence coach added. "They play in La Liga and it's an opportunity for some of our players to face senior professionals of a really high standard.

"We've got to take the game into context, making sure we see some of the principles we've been asking. We want them to enjoy it and make sure we make it a challenge for them.

"The harder the game, the better for us because there can be a lot of learning from that which is important. Ultimately, we've got to show belief in the lads and the way they've trained, especially today, there's enough in there that we can make the game competitive."