Newcastle's most recent victory in the competition was back in March 2023 against Gloucester, so that winless period will have stretched to 18 months by the time the new season begins next month with a match at home to Bristol Bears on 20 September.

However, Diamond believes that the Falcons have been suffering from a losing culture for the four years since they were promoted from the Championship.

In that period, they have lost 62 of their 84 Premiership games and never finished with more than two sides below them in the final table.

Diamond, who arrived at the club in January after Alex Codling stepped down, has been working hard on the squad's fitness during pre-season as he sees that as the bedrock for producing a side that is harder to play against.

"To be competitive in the competition, you've got to have a 90% lineout and scrum," he said.

"To be competitive, you've got to give away single-figure penalties. They've not had that for four years. To do that, you've got to be fit.

"Most penalties are given away at the maul or offside in midfield at a ruck - generally teams that aren't fit. The rest of it, the skill element, comes lastly for me.

"We will become a competitive team. When you're a good defensive team, most tries in top-class rugby are created from turnovers from a good defence, so the basics are there."