Nabil Bentaleb has praised his Newcastle United teammates for their hard work in training ahead of the Premier League restart.
The English top-flight will resume action on June 17, more than three months after it was suspended due to coronavirus lockdown and Steve Bruce’s men are scheduled to host Sheffield United at home four days later.
Newcastle intensified their preparation with a behind-closed-doors training match at St James' Park on Saturday with the Algerian midfielder scoring a stunning goal from outside the penalty area.
He was delighted with his contribution, and he believes they will be prepared to kick on when the league resumes in a week’s time.
"No matter how much you run in training you need to get match fitness and to get match fitness you need to play so that's what we did,” Bentaleb told the club website.
"It is good for the legs and I think everybody is happy.
"We've all been craving Premier League matches and are getting close to this. We've worked really hard and hopefully, we will be ready on the day."
Bentaleb joined Newcastle United on loan from Bundesliga club Schalke 04 in January, with the Premier League outfit holding the option to make the deal permanent.
He has made six appearances for the Magpies with four yellow cards received so far.
The inter-squad match ended 1-1, however, the 25-year-old believes they are getting back their form and he praised Joelinton, who found the back of the net as well.
"For a striker, it is always good to score," he added. "You always want to create opportunities for him [Joelinton] and it is great he managed to score.
"I was looking more for getting 90 minutes in my legs but I managed to score a goal.
"We are getting back to our automatism."
Newcastle United are placed 13th on the Premier League table after gathering 35 points from 29 outings.
