Jonjo Shelvey has a message for Newcastle United fans

There was a backlash against Bruce’s appointment as Rafa Benitez’s successor on Tyneside.

However, Shelvey – who impressed in yesterday’s 1-0 Premier League Asia Trophy win over West Ham United in Shanghai, China – says Bruce is “like a breath of fresh air”.

“It feels like a club that’s moving on a bit,” said Shelvey. “Rafa isn’t here anymore, we need to get on with it. Steve’s come in, and it’s been like a breath of fresh air.

“The fans need to give him a chance, because, I think, if they do that, if we play like we did, we’ll do well week in, week out and they won’t have any reason for complaint.

“I think Steve is more straight with you. As soon as he came in, all he expects is that you work hard. If you work hard, you will be fine. That’s what we need to do.”

The odds on United being relegated were cut following the departure of Benitez.

“We’ve constantly been told we are not good enough,” said Shelvey. “People have kept telling us we were going to go down, but we’ve proven them wrong and we stayed up both times. The main motivation is to stay up – that’s the first target. We need to stay in the Premier League.

“We don’t want to drop down into the Championship. It’s getting harder and harder to get out of, and we don’t want to keep going down and coming back up again. We’re too good for that. We need stability.”

Shelvey had a chance meeting with Bruce while on holiday in Portugal earlier this summer.

“Every player who has worked with him has spoken highly of him,” said the 27-year-old. “I can only go on what people have said.

“I saw him in the summer in Portgual in the summer. Obviously, I didn’t know he was going to end up being my manager, so it’s a good thing I did stop and say hello!

“He’s a deserves a bit more credit than he gets. You won’t many people who don’t speak highly of Steve.”