Newcastle United skipper Bruno Guimaraes took time out of the Magpies’ Champions League challenge this week to indulge in something a little more relaxing.
In a week in which Bruno has been linked with a £100million move to Manchester City, the Brazil midfielder took long-serving kitman Ray Thompson and the club’s soft tissue specialist Barrie Graham to enjoy a fishing expedition. After winning the Carabao Cup and skippering Newcastle to a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, Bruno shows no signs of discontent on Tyneside.
The former Lyon star – who has been spotted on numerous occasions enjoying the region’s rivers – also thanked any Newcastle fans who’d got a Bruno tattoo for their “love and support” on his Instagram account.
That hasn’t stopped UOL in Brazil, reporting that Guimaraes is available for £100m with a suggestion that a clause remains on the South American’s contract. But the importance of keeping focused on the challenge in hand can only be done if players “switch off” according to assistant boss Jason Tindall.
When asked about Bruno’s fishing trip, Tindall told Chronicle Live: “It goes to show how tight and close everybody is here. It is not often that you will see the captain of a Premier League team going fishing with staff members; that is a testament to Bruno himself and the tight-knit we have here at the football club.
“I think it is important for players to switch off. There is so much pressure on their shoulders and there is a lot of talk. There is a lot of emotion for them to deal with. When those moments come they have to be able to make sure that they do switch off and recharge their batteries.
“Then come back fresh again. So it was great to see Bruno fishing and having the staff members with him. I’m sure they had a great day, but it was great to see from our perspective; it’s so important.”
And so the stage is now set for Sunday at St James’ Park as Newcastle aim to record their first ever Premier League double over Man United. With Newcastle flying in the Premier League and Man United on course for their lowest finish, Tindall reflected: “We haven’t really looked at it that way. We don’t look back at past results and analyse in that way.
“Our only focus is the next game and how best do we get a result,. What do we have to deliver to do that? We do back ourselves against any team we come up against, certainly now. We are confident that if we can go out there and deliver the performance we know we are capable of it will be a tough game for anyone, not just in the Premier League but in Europe. I think we proved that so many times.”
If Newcastle can do that with Bruno proving to be a man in form, it may not be the last we see of the fishing trips before the season is over.
