Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park (kick-off 14:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Howe admitted, on reflection, that the break came at a good time for Newcastle. He added: "At the time I probably felt we wanted to play as soon as we could but I think it gave the players a chance to detach."
The Newcastle boss said Bruno Guimaraes will be out for the trip to Crystal Palace and could miss the Bournemouth game. Howe said he has "suffered from mumps on his return from Brazil so that has delayed his return."
Howe said Fabian Shar won't return for "around a month" after suffering an infection in his foot which he has had a small operation on.
On the injury situation Howe added: "On everybody else we're pretty good. Lewis [Miley] has trained and trained well so that has been a great thing for us to see because we've missed him massively. Then of course you had Sandro [Tonali] who played during the international break anyway, with his injury after the Sunderland game, and others are in a good place."
On his future Howe said his "100 per cent commitment" to the job has "never wavered". He added: "I've been working during the break to make sure we come back a stronger team. I think in this day and age it's very difficult to look too far in the long term. I can only look to these seven games and make sure we perform at our very best level and make sure the players are ready for these games."
Howe said he has had good support from CEO David Hopkinson and sporting director Ross Wilson and that they are "plotting to try and take the club forward in the smartest way possible".
He said they'll be "as ready as they can be" for the summer which is "very difficult to predict".
On the prospect of more of their best players may being sold Howe said: "If that's the reality and I'm not saying it is – David will know more than me on that – then that is the reality. I have no issue working with the conditions that the club set and finances dictate."
He added: "I've never had an issue with that all through my career so as long as that's made clear to everybody on the outside and the expectations are aligned within that because I don't think you can have expectations that warp reality, everything has to be aligned for the players to enter the pitch and play in their best place where they're relaxed and not under undue pressure."
On chasing a spot in Europe, the Newcastle boss said: "If there is a carrot for us it's European places potentially going down and the gap is small between us and the teams ahead of us so that is a big thing for us to try and chase down."
Finally on Kieran Trippier's departure at the end of the season Howe said: "For me he goes down as one of the best players that's played for me in my time here. He deserves to go with all the plaudits."
Listen to commentary of Crystal Palace v Newcastle United on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 from 13:55 BST on Sunday
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