Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has defended their complicated tour of the USA.
They leave Newcastle early on Sunday morning and in total face 10 flights to reach games against Kansas City, Orlando and Columbus Crew.
Pardew said: "The benefit of going is the facilities. It is going to be hot so it will test us because my experience tells me the first game of the season will be 90 degrees at St James's Park, so that will be good.
"The training ground and facilities are top drawer. The competition there is in mid-season and I think the games are going to be tough and that is just what we need.
"I think they're are a couple of internal flights of about four hours but we are dwarfed by some of the trips by the other Premier League teams with these Asia trips.
"This is not a money making exercise by any stretch of imagination. It is purely a break-even tour which we feel is beneficial for the team."
