After the disastrous performance at Leicester on Sunday, the last thing Newcastle fans want to hear is the manager cancelling training the following day, effectively giving them the day off.
And yet, that is precisely what Steve Bruce has done, according to the Telegraph, telling the players to stay away from training, as he was too angry to see them, and needed time to reflect.
It sends the wrong message – regardless of the reasons why – and unless the reflecting he is doing, is regarding his own position, fans can quite rightly question the decision.
I understand he is mad at them – although he should look no further than the nearest mirror to apportion much of the blame – and that he may want to tell them some more home truths, despite having apparently done so after the game.
But after such an abject display, he should be demanding they come in for double sessions, and increasing their workload ahead of the crucial game against Manchester United on Sunday.
In fact, more honest assessments of their performances could be exactly what is needed.
Players should be forced to do overtime and refund the fans who travelled
They should have been made to come in at 9 o’clock in the morning, and forced to sit down and go through every painful minute of the game again.
Let them sit in silence, and listen to those Geordie voices giving them the backing they scarcely deserved, in a defiant show of loyalty for their club.
That alone should have the desired effect of making them ashamed of what they brought to the pitch on Sunday.
They should be left in no doubt that such a pathetic display, which disrespected every fan that paid £30 a ticket and a similar amount in travelling costs, will not be tolerated again.
In fact, they should be offering to refund every single one of them.
Bruce should be working twice as hard to rectify the situation, and the players should be doing likewise.
Giving them a day off as a ‘reward’ – which is what it is, no matter how it is dressed up – for yesterday’s shambolic debacle, is an insult to every supporter who has to go into work as usual after a bad day.
Yet another thing that the increasingly woeful Steve Bruce has got wrong.
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