Winskill ready for Hong Kong Soccer Sevens test

United’s youngsters jetted out to the Far East earlier this week and will begin the second defence of their title on Saturday 27th May, with the young Magpies winning the competition in 2018 and 2019 before the tournament was curtailed for three years due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Winskill is determined for his 10-man squad to follow in similar footsteps of those who have lifted the trophy in recent years ahead of facing Hong Kong Football Club, HKFC Captain’s Select and Leicester City in Group C of the seven-a-side competition, with the top two sides progressing into the Main Cup quarter-finals.

He told nufc.co.uk: “It’s something we’ve spoken about before we came away. We want to defend it and the lads have put in some really positive performances of late so we come into the tournament in good form and we see that as a real challenge to try and emulate those who’ve come before us.

“We’ve done all the work back in Newcastle as best as we can in terms of how we’re going to play and the strategies we’re going to use in the games at certain points.

“We want to continue the good form that the club has been in, across the board, over the last 12 months. First and foremost, the objectives are football ones and we want the lads to come and perform, represent Newcastle and play the way we want Newcastle teams to play.

“Secondly, it is the experience off the pitch of coming to a country like Hong Kong, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures and food. I think the lads will get some real lifelong memories from it but, hopefully, they are primarily football ones.”

Preparations for the tournament are fully under way in the Happy Valley, with the young Magpies training at the Hong Kong Football Club which is surrounded by the impressive Hong Kong Jockey Club and multiple high-rise buildings within a busy city.

Winskill added: “It’s an unbelievable place. I had a feeling of what it was going to be like from the stories of people who’ve been here in the past and it’s breathtaking. The views, buildings and the fact the football club is in the middle of a horse racing track in the middle of a city centre is surreal.

“I was quite surprised that it wasn’t as hot as what I thought it was going to be but I think that’s preparing us for something different to what is going to happen tomorrow. The pitch is really good. It’s bouncy, the balls are bouncy, and the morning session was more about getting used to the surface and temperature and the lads have coped well."