It's no holiday! Alan Pardew defends Newcastle's mid-season trip to Abu Dhabi

ALAN PARDEW has defended Newcastle’s sunshine break in Abu Dhabi.

Pardew's side were hoping to return to an FA Cup tie after their trip

Boss Pardew claims the 7,000-mile round-trip is no mid-season knees up, insisting his squad will be working hard in the blistering heat of the United Arab Emirates.

Newcastle hoped the luxury jaunt would provide ideal preparation for this weekend’s FA Cup fourth round - only to be left red-faced after their third round exit at home to Cardiff.

They jetted-off in good spirits after the morale-boosting 3-1 Premier League win at West Ham on Saturday ended a damaging four-game losing streak.

Pardew still felt the need to justify the trip though, and said: “It was scheduled in to give us a lift for the fourth round of the FA Cup if I’m honest.

“We used to do something similar when I was at Crystal Palace, and it was already booked before we lost to Cardiff. The fans need to know that.
“We all thought we’d still be in the cup and coming back to a cup game so it’s a big disappointment in our season.”

Pardew’s troops will be given plenty down-time to recharge their batteries after cementing their place in the top half of the table, ahead of a hoped-for assault on the top six in the last four months of the campaign.

The manager refused to confirm if alcohol was out of bounds for his players during the trip.
But he insists the players will be working hard during their five-day break, before their return to Premier League action at Norwich a week today.

Pardew added “It’s a trip to work physically and mentally with sun on your back.
“The players deserve a bit of sun, but they’re not going to get a break because we’ve pencilled in hard work.”
Hatem Ben Arfa did not join up with his Toon team-mates, after the Frenchman was given permission to remain on Tyneside.