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Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez will opt against taking his players on a winter break next week.

The Magpies were knocked out of the FA Cup at Chelsea last month and don’t have a game next weekend, but Benitez has prepared a training schedule and his squad have been told not to expect warm weather sessions like in Premier League seasons gone by.

The packed fixture list in the Sky Bet Championship meant there was no time for Benitez’s team to jet out to sunnier climes anyway last season.

However, unlike previous bosses Alan Pardew and Steve McClaren, Benitez does not see the need to head out to some of the exotic locations of years gone by.

Pardew took his team to Tenerife in 2012 and insisted the trip wouldn’t be a jolly for his team following a 5-2 defeat at Fulham but pictures emerged of Steven Taylor and the manager himself posing on nights out with tourists on the holiday isle.

The team were knocked out of the FA Cup at Brighton days later during a shocking display at the Amex Stadium.

Newcastle travelled to Dubai in 2015 during John Carver’s stint in charge following an FA Cup knockout at Leicester City while Steve McClaren organised for his players to head to La Manga in 2016 - only to lose the next two games and end up being relegated.

Now, Benitez has told his players to stay grounded and while the team will get some time to spend with families next week the focus at the training ground will be on preparing fo the trip to AFC Bournemouth on February 24.

Benitez feels a trip abroad would not serve any purpose to his players and their current situation and the Magpies will report for training at the start of next week after the clash with Manchester United.