Kieran Trippier reveals what Newcastle United players told him about training under Steve Bruce and makes Eddie Howe comparison

Trippier arrived as Newcastle’s first January signing two months ago and quickly settled with two goals in his opening four matches before a fifth metatarsal injury stopped his impressive start in its tracks.

Obviously Trippier hasn’t worked at United under any head coach apart from Howe – but players talk to one another – and the England international didn’t shy away from offering his opinion on what he had been told by his teammates about training under previous head coach Steve Bruce when they were struggling at the start of the season.

"Some players talked to me maybe about the training [under Bruce], they weren't going through a good patch which doesn't help as players," Trippier said on The True Geordie Podcast.

“The way you train is the way you play so if you're having a lot of days off and you're not training right, you're not going to perform.

"With the gaffer now, I've worked with him before and I know what he demands in training.

"He's tough and you can see that, especially the Leeds game with the way they play, the way we matched them for fitness and playing style, we've seen how the gaffer has tried to implement his style on the team and I think it's working.”

Howe signed Trippier for Burnley from Manchester City on an initial loan deal in 2011, which was later made permanent.

Over a decade later, Howe and assistant manager Jason Tindall were instrumental in bringing the 31-year-old back to England after a successful two-and-a-half years in Spain with Atletico Madrid.

“From when I first worked with [Howe] at Burnley, he demands a lot in training,” Trippier added.

“Even in the passing drills, in every single training session, he demands so much from his players and I feel now, especially in my time at Newcastle, the players have bought into it.

"You've seen from the performances, the fitness levels have improved for sure. He's the type of gaffer who wants to be on the front foot, wants to be pressing.”

He added: “If we stay up, we need to build then build again and again and then go for the title.”

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