Former Newcastle striker claims Steve Bruce told players 'I don't do tactics!' during 5-0 thrashing by Manchester City… before recalling his old boss' 'crackers' interviews that left stars in stitches

Former Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle has sensationally claimed that former manager Steve Bruce once told his team, ‘I don’t do tactics!’

Bruce, who is the current Blackpool boss, was in charge at St James’ Park between July 2019 and October 2021, when he was replaced by Eddie Howe shortly after the club’s takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Under Bruce, Newcastle won 28 games, drew another 28 and lost 41.

Speaking on the Open Goal podcast this week, Gayle recalled how Bruce’s disregard for small details left him shocked during a 5-0 defeat at Manchester City in 2020.

Gayle said: ‘I remember like some of the boys got chucked into the Man City shift, basically. 

‘We had like a three-game week, and I think the gaffer sort of chucked a few of the boys under the bus in terms of who had to play against Man City away. And me and Matty Ritchie were asking for tactical improvements for weeks or months or whatever.

Bruce oversaw 28 wins, 28 draws and 41 defeats, including a 5-0 loss at Man City in 2020

Striker Dwight Gayle scored 34 goals in 122 games for Newcastle between 2016 and 2022

‘And then we come in at half-time, and I think we were 2-0 or 3-0 down, and he’s like, “Boys, you keep asking for tactics – I don’t do tactics! Just put your boots on and work hard.” 

‘[Against] Man City, that’s not good enough to be like, “Just run about!” I was just in shock, but yeah, that’s what he said.’

Gayle, who scored 34 goals in 122 games for Newcastle between 2016 and 2022, also claimed that he and his team-mates used to find some of Bruce’s comments in press conferences hilarious.

‘Oh mate, [there were] some classics,’ Gayle added. ‘We used to die. 

He used to say some crackers in the interviews, man. “How’s the bacon?” That was so funny.

‘We used to just giggle about it. Again, me and Karl Darlow used to just be dying.’

Bruce apparently produced moments of comedy on the training ground too, especially in his last days at the club.

He generally left his coaching team to run training sessions, according to Gayle. But that changed following the Saudi takeover. 

Bruce apparently said some things in press conferences that Gayle thought were hilarious

Bruce pictured taking a training session in October 2021 shortly before Newcastle sacked him

Gayle explained: ‘He didn’t really do much on the training pitch. But then, obviously, when the Saudi owners came in, he stuck his boots on and the whistle and was like, “If I’m going, then I’m going to run you into the ground,” or something like that.

‘So, we’re doing some running drills and he’s just running us and he’s blowing his whistle and it’s just, like, making it into a little bit of a joke and stuff. He’s like, “They’re over there watching you!”

Asked if training was good under Bruce overall, Gayle replied: ‘It was okay. I felt that he didn’t perhaps spend enough time on working on a lot of things with us.

‘I think he was trying to go game by game rather than perhaps develop us as a team. I just felt like we could have improved with a lot of things.’