Dan Burn has been talking about Thomas Tuchel.
The Newcastle United defender put up by England to speak to the media.
Dan Burn giving some great insight on his boss: “You can have a relationship with the manager [Thomas Tuchel] where you feel like you are his friend a lot of the time. He takes the mick out of me a lot so I’m quite happy with that! But also when it comes down to the football, I feel he is very honest.”
I think Thomas Tuchel has been a breath of fresh air when it comes to England.
The football and entertainment is a massive step up on the tedious boring stuff served up by Gareth Southgate and at his press conferences, the England boss well worth listening to and shows real character. As Dan Burn attests to.
Dan Burn going on to say: “He [Thomas Tuchel] can really hold a room when he speaks. Everyone listens. He has got both sides to him where you can go to the baseball and he’ll throw the first pitch and you can sit and chat to him. But when it comes to training, he expects certain standards from the lads. If he sees something he doesn’t like he calls it out. He really has that balance well.”
England won 4-2 in their opening match and played well going forward throughout the game.
However, weaknesses on the defensive side undermined that attacking intent and the match was poised at 2-2 when heading into the break.
Dan Burn giving insight into what was said at half-time: “I know people say that he must have given a rocket at half-time to the England players] but it was the opposite. It was more just saying, ‘If we don’t win this game it’s not the end of the world’, but he wants us to go out and perform how he knows we can. You saw that reaction after half-time. That speaks volumes of his leadership.”
The Newcastle United star also giving special mention to two stand out England players.
Dan Burn on Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. “[They are] World class. They are leaders of the group. Playing for top clubs and at the peak of their careers. Maybe not Jude, he is 12 or whatever! He has got a long way [further] to go [as he’s only 22] but he is a big player for us. Jude is one of those players where you can really feel when Jude’s on it. He sets the tone.”