Albert Luque is hoping for a fresh start at Newcastle under new manager Sam Allardyce.
The Spanish attacker has not enjoyed the best of times at St James' Park since his £9.5million move from Deportivo La Coruna in 2005.

Luque has failed to hold down a place in the Newcastle first team and has managed only 14 starts in his first two seasons.

However, the 29-year-old has made a positive start to Newcastle's pre-season.

Luque has chipped in with three goals in two outings, against Celtic and Juventus, as Newcastle warm up for the kick-off of the Premier League next month and he admits his confidence and fitness are returning.

"This year with Sam my fitness is better," Luque told Newcastle's official website.

"I need confidence so the goals for me are important. Now I need more training, more fitness and it will be better for me and for the team.

"At the moment my fitness is the best it's been. Now I want to keep it like that.

"I work on the training ground so when I play in the matches my fitness is better and I have more options on the pitch.

"I want to play well all the time. When I have a chance it is important to play well and score goals.

"For me it's an important year. The last two years have been very bad for me and I don't want one more year in the same situation."