Newcastle United players were left shocked by the training methods employed by Steve Bruce, according to the Chronicle.
The regional newspaper claimed on their website that the Magpies squad were not prepared for the amount of running Bruce ordered, with the new boss making his players run 3000 metres in their opening session.
The Chronicle report that Bruce believes that his team will not be outworked in the Premier League next season, even if they are outplayed by certain opponents – a motivation which has led to his squad feeling physically sick after his pre-season training sessions.
An insider in the Newcastle camp was said to reveal that although the players are shocked, they are embracing the positive impact Bruce has made.
OPINION
There is no doubting that the feel-good factor has slowly returned at Newcastle since Rafael Benitez’s departure, well, in the squad that is. The Magpies faithful are yet to be convinced by their club, and rightly so, but the least they can surely ask for is a squad who is willing to run themselves into the ground for their club. The players seem to have embraced Bruce, and he hasn’t come to St James’ Park to make friends, especially if the 3000-metre run is anything to go by in their first session together. The intense training employed by Bruce might not feel good right now, but when Newcastle are defending a lead or pushing for a victory in the last 10 minutes of fixtures in the Premier League next season, they will think back to this moment and thank Bruce. However, the running could come at a cost, with the new boss supposedly favouring the running compared to tactical work, something which is a massive risk – only time will tell how this will pay off, but Newcastle players seem to be relishing the hard work.
