20 Key Things We Learned From Newcastle's Fans Forum Minutes

15. Injury Prevention Is A Priority

The club know that the soft-tissue injury problems of last season - there were 30 in all - were a disaster. Fitness problems of such a magnitude are unsustainable, and they must sort out the problem, something Steve McClaren was quick to stress. Dave Abbott, the Away Fan Representative, asked: "We had a lot of injuries last season. Have there been any changes?" To which McClaren responded:

"It's one of the first things we look at and we talk to the doctor and the medical staff. We've got very good staff behind the scenes. We've gone though training methods, what we do and seeing how we can avoid injuries. The doctor was one of the first people I spoke to. "We want players to be available every Saturday so that's our target. If a player gets injured, we need accurate diagnosis, good treatment, good rehab and to get him back as soon as possible."