Obertan "A Bit Ahead Of" His Newcastle Teammates Fitness-Wise For Southampton Draw
The Frenchman believes the extra work he did over the summer has served him well.
Gabriel Obertan believes he was rewarded with a Newcastle United starting berth against Southampton by Steve McClaren because he returned to pre-season "a bit ahead of" his Magpies teammates fitness-wise. The Frenchman vindicated McClaren's decision to start him in the 2-2 draw against the Saints at St James' Park on Sunday by delivering an excellent cross for Georginio Wijnaldum to head in a debut goal. McClaren suggested that Obertan's ability to track back and help out Massadio Haidara defensively was a large reason behind why the 26-year-old former Manchester United winger was given the nod to play on the left, something his supposed superior fitness at this early stage in the season will have helped him to do.
"The pre-season has been pretty good for me. I've been working - even during my time off. "I think I was a bit ahead of everybody (else in the squad) fitness-wise (when we returned). So I carried on that to show my qualities to the new staff and they made me feel comfortable so it's quite easy to work well with that type of staff. "(The work I've been doing) is mainly maintaining the fitness I was at. I like working and I like staying in shape. I think it's our duty as a professional athlete to stay in shape and I do a lot of conditioning and like speed work and keep my qualities - speed and strength. "Definitely we had a few talks and individual meetings (with the new staff) and I know what he (Steve McClaren) expects from me. "He (McClaren) told me I'd have a fresh start and that's what I expected with new staff coming with fresh eyes and a new vision for the team. It's a really good start for me and I'm really enthusiastic for the rest of the season."Obertan will hope that, even when the rest of the squad reach peak fitness, he can still maintain his place in the Magpies starting line-up going forward. CLICK HERE to read the Match Report from Newcastle United 2-2 Southampton.And CLICK HERE to read the Player Ratings from the game.Finally, CLICK HERE to read "10 Things We Learned From The Game".For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCulture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.