Andros Townsend has moved to defender Steve Bruce’s decision to give his Newcastle United players an extended rest during the international break.
It has been reported that the 60-year-old has afforded those players that haven’t been called up by their national teams some extra time to recuperate, following the dismal defeat to Brighton.
According to the Daily Mail, the players were given several days off after the 3-0 loss on the south coast.
Lots of fans have blasted Bruce for not dragging the players in for extra sessions amid the team’s alarming form right now.
But former Magpies Townsend believes everything is being blown out of proportion.
He told talkSPORT: “They’ve still got two-and-a-half weeks until their next game, so he gave them six days off to refresh, recover and get players back from injury.
“Then you’ve got just under two weeks to prepare for nine cup finals.
“Unfortunately it’s been blown out of proportion. The fans have been misled by the reporting of the journalist.”
It’s just not a good look
Scheduling in six days off after arguably the worst performance of the season may be fine in Townsend’s eyes, but it’s how it looks.
Maybe the players don’t necessarily need to be out on the training field, but can other forms of work not be undertaken? Like tactics meetings and analysis of what went wrong against the Seagulls?
It is as if the club are not currently on a run of two wins in the last 20 games and there is no immediate threat of relegation.
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