The Newcastle United squad are facing an in-depth inquest into their 5-0 defeat at Leicester City in training on Tuesday and Steve Bruce is ready to swing the axe for the game against Man United, according to the Chronicle.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Magpies’ coaching staff still believe that a majority of the squad are “dining out” on past performances.
The Chronicle report that Bruce accused his squad of going into hiding when it got tough at the King Power Stadium, as they were forced to play the majority of the game with 10-men after Isaac Hayden’s red card.
It is suggested that Bruce could swing the axe on players he thinks have been underperforming.
OPINION
After the Newcastle players were told to stay away from the training ground on Monday, they could be set for a tough day on Tuesday as the fallout from Leicester begins. Bruce was let down by his squad, and he has every right to be seething with their efforts in the game. The Magpies definitely went into hiding, and at times Leicester simply strolled straight through them on their way to another goal. The least a coach can ask for from his players is the maximum effort and after that performance the majority of Newcastle players need to take a long, hard look at themselves. If they believe they can continue to put in that sort of effort each weekend they should be ashamed, and Bruce must get that into their heads as quickly as possible. For the Magpies’ staff to also have their concerns only highlights how big of a problem Newcastle are facing, and Bruce has to lay it all out on the table on Tuesday in an attempt to create a fresh start for his players.
