Steve Bruce reveals why he left Allan Saint-Maximin out of his starting XI

Saint-Maximin started this afternoon’s goalless draw against Burnley on the bench.

Asked about the decision to leave the winger out, head coach Bruce said: “He was a little bit sore around the hamstring. In that respect, it was an easy decision. He was stiff and sore, and that made my mind up.”

Bruce had changed his formation for the game. Dwight Gayle, Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie were among those recalled to the starting XI.

“I was pleased with some aspects, the clean sheet,” said Bruce. “We’ve had 20 attempts, which is far more than we’ve had before. There was bits of it I was pleased with. Room for improvement. I certainly thought that we were more of a threat.”