Rafa Benitez scraps Newcastle's tradition of short winter break as Spaniard seeks FA Cup run: 'It’s about enjoying it and seeing how far we go'

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It used to be the case that Newcastle’s players enjoyed a winter break over the weekend of the FA Cup third round.

Even though some managers have tried to deny such a practice, it was widely known that senior stars were often granted a short holiday in early January.

That came from the top of the club, whose message was, in effect, to duck out of the cup competitions as early as possible and concentrate on Premier League survival.

Ayoze Perez scored the opener for Newcastle in their 3-1 win against Luton Town

Not now. Even though Rafa Benitez has conceded that his priorities remain with keeping his team in the top-flight, he was not about to name a weakened side here.

Instead, this was arguably the strongest XI Newcastle have fielded for an FA Cup tie in the past decade of Mike Ashley’s ownership.

It was, for example, far better than the line-up who faced Manchester City over Christmas.

Captain Jamaal Lascelles is Benitez’s most important player right now, yet he led out the team against League Two leaders Luton.

Rafa Benitez named a strong line-up and is taking the FA Cup seriously this year 

And the 24-year-old says the attitude towards this competition has changed in his time at the club.

‘In the past some players may have looked to have this weekend off after the busy period. It certainly wouldn’t happen now,’ said Lascelles, who was withdrawn before the break but will be fit for Saturday’s visit of Swansea.

‘We have a good group of lads here and everyone wants the same thing. The manager said to me before the game that we want to go out there and win and see how far we can get.

‘It’s not like the Championship when you are playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday. You usually only play once a week in the Premier League, so it’s not as if you need to rest players.

‘The players are happy with that - we want to play.’

There was no rest for the Newcastle players, which hasn't been the case in recent years

Benitez’s attitude is that he will let the nature of the draw dictate how far his team can go. He will not make bullish statements of intent proclaiming that this is the season they can end the club’s 49-year trophy drought.

But nor will he play the kids and accept defeat lightly.

‘The ideal situation is to get to a comfortable position in the league and then decide how to approach the FA Cup if we can make it to the later rounds,’ said the Spaniard, whose team eased into the fourth round thanks to a double from Ayoze Perez and a Jonjo Shelvey strike before half-time.

‘At the moment it’s just about enjoying it and seeing how far we can go.’