Enrique keen on realism

14 July 2010 10:55
JOSE ENRIQUE has claimed Newcastle United need to remain realistic as they prepare to return to the Premier League following a one-year absence.[LNB] Chris Hughton's side romped to the Championship title last season, and expectations are rising as the start of the new top-flight campaign draws near.[LNB] Enrique insists there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic ahead of next month's curtain-raiser at Manchester United, but with memories of Newcastle's exploits in the upper reaches of the table remaining as strong as ever, the Spaniard admits it will be important not to elevate targets to an unattainable level.[LNB] I think we need to be realistic,[LNB] said Enrique, who is part of the senior squad that will fly back from a pre-season training camp at Carton House, near Dublin, this morning. We played in the Championship last year and won it. I think we have a good squad, but we can't get too carried away.[LNB] We haven't signed too many players yet and the Premier League is a very difficult league. We need to be a little bit quiet. We need to see what the division is like, but whatever else happens, the most important thing is that we are still a Premier League team at the end of next season.[LNB] This is a club that can play in the Champions League or the Europa League but not now. Not yet. We played in the Championship last year, now we play in the Premier League, but we cannot expect to achieve massive things overnight.[LNB] Newcastle's hopes of a flying start could receive assistance from an unexpected quarter after Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claimed he would not play all of his World Cup players in the opening game of the campaign.[LNB] Six United players were involved in South Africa Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick (England), Patrice Evra (France), Park Ji-Sung (South Korea), Nemanja Vidic (Serbia) and Javier Hernandez (Mexico) and Ferguson claims a number will be rested when Newcastle visit Old Trafford on August 16.[LNB] We will have to survey the fitness of the ones who've been at the World Cup because they don't come back until the 28th of July, said Ferguson. We won't really know if any of them or all of them should play in the opening game until then.[LNB] I have the feeling we'll probably not play them all, but maybe one or two will play in it.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo