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Lee Ryder

Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce given green light to face media again

Steve Bruce will face the media again on the eve of Newcastle United's clash with Leeds at St James' Park.

The Press conference takes place after Bruce and his players took Sunday off to clear their heads after the 4-1 loss to Manchester United.

But the first of four training sessions took place on Monday afternoon as Newcastle look to get their season kick-started.

Bruce hit out at the local media on Saturday night and felt that it was the Chronicle that set the tone for the negative vibes in the away section.

In doing so, he followed former boss Alan Pardew who also used the same excuse back in 2014 after a Newcastle slump away to Stoke City.

The aftermath of Bruce's Press conference has resulted in something of a unanimous opinion by leading fanzines such as the Mag and True Faith insisting they or the fanbase aren't influenced by the Press, while NUFC Fans TV also led with a piece on Monday night underlining the fact they have their own voice.

Bruce's long-term associate and former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has inevitably defended the former Manchester United captain and stated that the manager should put "certain journalists back in their box".

Jordan has merely reacted to the noise from the Old Trafford Press conference. He wasn't there and wouldn't know where to find a Press room at a football stadium.

And while Bruce accused the Chronicle of negativity the 53-year-old Jordan will have no inkling of the fact that this newspaper is the only publication that follows the progress of the club's youth teams and Under-23 sides regularly and has also been a supporter of the club's community Foundation for a number of years.

Newcastle United head coach Steve Bruce taking in a community training session at Walker Activity Dome (Lee Ryder)

Indeed, the Chronicle covered an evening event involving Bruce at a community event at Walker Activity Dome before lockdown as well as a string of others in previous years.

When the club were relegated in 2009 and 2016, the newspaper were the main publication in the Press room as national titles, understandably, flocked to the region's Premier League teams while Newcastle played in the Championship.

Jordan's comments on Tyneside have been treated with contempt given the Londoner's lack of knowledge of the club and the area.

Newcastle have since made no public response to Bruce's Press conference.

Most tellingly, Newcastle confirmed yesterday that it will be Bruce taking the chair to face the media via Zoom call again on Thursday.

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