I didn't like the way I was treated at Newcastle United - now I'm a Champions League hero & club legend

Schar often struggled for game time under Bruce but has since re-established himself as a key player at Newcastle under Eddie Howe. The Swiss defender has been a mainstay in the Newcastle line-up over the past three-and-a-half-years, scoring in the Champions League and helping the club win the Carabao Cup - cementing his place as a club legend in the eyes of many.

The 33-year-old has recently signed a new contract extension that runs until June 2026. On Monday night, Schar almost grabbed the headlines for attempting a shot from his own half in Newcastle’s 3-0 win over Leicester City.

The defender was inches away from scoring a goal of the season contender. Instead his effort bounced back of the crossbar and fell for Jacob Murphy to put it in the net.

Following the match, Schar took to Instagram to post an image of him celebrating Murphy’s goal with the Newcastle winger.

It was accompanied by the caption: “Professional performance from the boys! 🖤🤍On a plate for you, @jacobmurphy95 🍽️😂.”

Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll responded to Schar’s social media post, stoking the Bruce criticism fire once again as he commented: “And Brucey benched you🫣.”

Schar responded to Carroll’s post with a ‘zipped-mouth’ (🤐) emoji. While technically a ‘no comment’ response, it really says everything.

Fabian Schar considered leaving Newcastle United after being frozen out by Steve Bruce

After an impressive debut season at Newcastle under Rafa Benitez, Schar found himself in and out of the side during Bruce’s spell at the club. Before Eddie Howe’s arrival, the defender had started just two of Newcastle’s previous 26 Premier League matches amid a relegation battle.

Yet he has sat out just 12 Premier League matches under Howe, proving himself as a key player in a side challenging for European football and major trophies.

And his lack of minutes under Bruce has Schar questioning his future on Tyneside. But things changed very quickly under Howe, who had previously tried to sign the defender for Bournemouth.

“I mean, I didn’t always play a lot [under Bruce],” Schar said previously. "I was in a difficult position, and I think the manager or even then the club wouldn’t be like trying to keep me, you know? I’m like, ‘I want to play football, that’s the only thing I want to do’

“At that stage of my career, I didn’t want to sit on the bench, and obviously the way we played football wasn’t really suited to myself. Then I started to think of what’s happening next, what’s going on?

“I kind of felt like, when I heard who was coming to be here as the new manager, things changed, because I’d already had contact with [Howe] a few years ago.

"The mentality from myself changed a lot, and I’m just glad and thankful for that.”

More Steve Bruce scrutiny from his former NUFC players

Carroll’s supposed dig at Bruce comes just weeks after former Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle heavily criticised the manager for his lack of tactical awareness.

Speaking on the Open Goal podcast Gayle said: “I felt that [Bruce] didn't spend enough time working on a lot of things with us. Perhaps he was trying to go game by game rather than developing us as a team. I think we could've improved a lot of things.

"I remember some of the boys got chucked into the Man City shift. We had a three-game week and the gaffer chucked some of the boys under the bus in terms of who had to play Man City away.

"Me and Matt Ritchie were asking for tactical improvements for weeks, months. We came in at half-time and we were two or three down, and he was like, 'boys, you keep asking for tactics, I don't do tactics; just put your boots on and work hard'."

Gayle’s comments provoked an angry response from Bruce, who is now Blackpool manager in League One.

Bruce told the Blackpool Gazette: “Is that the legendary Dwight Gayle, who missed the chance in the quarter-final against Manchester City [0-2 defeat in June 2020]?

“Is that the same Dwight Gayle? - Interesting.

“I’ve been around the block a long long time. I’ve only managed 1,050 games but according to Dwight I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ll let other people make their minds up who are a bit more established than Dwight ever was.”