Matt Jarvis claimed that Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce stating that his squad showed a lack of effort against Leicester City was a definite worry.
The Magpies boss accused his Newcastle side of not showing enough effort during their 5-0 loss to Leicester City and suggested his squad waved the white flag in that match.
“Effort is a big, big part of the game and we have not done enough,” Bruce told BBC Sport.
“The nitty-gritty is we have not laid a glove on Leicester in the second half and the white flag came out too early.”
The Sky Sports pundit was asked about Bruce’s remarks and shared that he had never come across a side that struggled due to a lack of effort, but for a manager to accuse his players of not giving 100% was a cause for concern.
“No for me, I don’t think I’ve come across it,” said Jarvis on Match Centre (11:08am, Friday, October 4th).
“You can get disappointed or annoyed but y’know as a wide player you waiting for that ball to come, you make the run in behind, it doesn’t come, you make that run again, it doesn’t come again so you question whether to make that run again, but it’s not a lack of effort.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that but for a manager to come out and say there’s a lack of effort from his players, it’s a definite worry.”
OPINION
Jarvis didn’t seem to agree with the idea that a Premier League side wouldn’t give their all and when you consider he has played 205 times in England’s top-flight, he has been in enough squads to know how likely it is for a side to throw in the towel. However, that didn’t stop him being concerned by Bruce’s remarks and surely that’s a red flag. As if he doesn’t think Bruce is justified to be accusing his players of a lack of effort, he must be concerned over how desperate the Magpies boss must be to publicly question whether his side gave 100% in their last outing, as clearly he doesn’t think the boss should be sweating over his side’s desire. However, when you consider Newcastle’s display against the Foxes, Bruce’s remarks weren’t out of place. Newcastle only saw 31% of the ball in their 5-0 loss to Leicester City and worryingly failed to register a shot on target (Source: WhoScored). Granted the Magpies did play a lot of the game with only 10-men following Isaac Hayden’s red card, you still expect a side with quality players such as Newcastle to be able to put up more of a fight, so it’s no surprise Bruce ended up questioning their effort.
