Newcastle boss Steve Bruce clashed with a reporter during his latest press conference and said that the reports of him having a training ground bust-up with Allan Saint-Maximin are “total nonsense”. A report in the British newspaper Daily Mail suggested that there was a fall out between the pair.
Steve Bruce said: “I don’t know where that has come from, it is total nonsense. The facts are Allan has twice done his hamstring since he’s been at the club. He wasn’t great with it, didn’t train on Sunday. He trained on Monday. All of the nonsense we have to read about is total nonsense.”
There have been reports in the past few weeks of all not being well in the dressing room after losses to Arsenal, Crystal Palace and a goalless draw against Burnley left Newcastle with just one point in the month of February.
Valentino Lazaro has backed goal-shy striker Joelinton to win over the doubters at Newcastle. Joelinton hasn’t scored a Premier League goal in over six months despite Newcastle smashing their club record to land the Brazilian. Lazaro, on loan from Inter Milan, knows Joelinton well from their time together in the Bundesliga and says the big striker brings more than just goals.
Valentino Lazaro said: “You always have the saying the striker is judged by his goals, but you can see by the way we play he is working so much. And he is helping us in a lot of ways. So we really need Joelinton upfront. Joe worked so hard along with the whole team. I have known Joe for years now. When you play the long balls, he is just always there, he goes deep, he is very quick. He is very tall. He can secure the ball. He is working, and impressing defensively as well. With the runs he makes it creates a lot of space. He was running to other positions so I had the space to go there and score my goal against West Brom. He is definitely bringing a lot to the team.”
The Austrian midfielder was at RB Leipzig at the same time as Joelinton was at Hoffenheim before his big-money move to Tyne side.
Newcastle United’s owner Mike Ashley was in attendance at the Hawthorns to see Newcastle play West Bromwich Albion and see them qualify for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time under his reign. Even though he was not warmly welcomed by the 5050 strong toon army that travelled to the midlands and chanted for Ashley’s removal from the club.
Mike Ashley has repeatedly said in the last few seasons that he is actively looking to sell of Newcastle but despite multiple interests from large financial groups and consortiums, he has never got into serious negotiations with any of them and have labeled them as “time wasters”. In the last couple of months, a Saudi Arabian Investment Group, headed by Amanda Staveley has been deemed interested in taking over the club but nothing concrete has been on the table so far.
This was only the third time that Ashley was in the stands this season to see Newcastle United play and he is reportedly happy with the performance of both Steve Bruce and the players in a season where they are 14th in the table and are in the last eight of the FA cup.
Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce is hoping that fans can help his side beat Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final. The Magpies were arguably handed the toughest tie as they were paired with last year’s winners, but with the game at home, a full-house could prove crucial.
Steve Bruce said “We couldn’t have asked for a tougher opponent in the competition, but it’s great to get a home tie, It would be fantastic to fill St James’ Park and experience the atmosphere that a big FA Cup quarter final can bring.”
The first half of this season saw attendances falling at St. James’ Park due to a poor start to the league campaign and ongoing dissatisfaction amongst fans over Mike Ashley’s ownership of the club. Steve Bruce suggested at the time that the club “should do something about it.” and the club offered 10000 free half-season tickets which were all quickly snapped up.
