An England star who Thomas Tuchel jokingly branded 'unprofessional' has revealed the brutal comment the new boss made during their first training session.
Tuchel takes charge of his first England game on Friday when the Three Lions host Albania in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium.
He replaced Gareth Southgate, who stepped down from his position following Euro 2024.
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And ahead of leading England into a new chapter, he aimed a dig at his predecessor in a pre-match interview.
Tuchel has named his squad for England's World Cup qualifiers, with Newcastle United defender Dan Burn earning a shock call-up.
Burn, who scored in his side's Carabao Cup triumph over Liverpool last weekend, sat down with fellow uncapped star Myles Lewis-Skelly and Arsenal's Declan Rice for a piece for England's official YouTube account.
Speaking to Lewis-Skelly and Rice, Burn revealed the ruthless comment Tuchel made during a private exchange.
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"He was so relaxed... makes it easier. Everything I've had so far has been pretty good," he began.
Burn then recalled his conversation with Tuchel following a training session.
"I was in the lift with him yesterday after training... I remember watching training and thinking, 'wow that is sharp'," he said, before revealing what Tuchel said to him. "I was like; 'How was training? Yeah, it's good, make sure you don't bring the standard down too much'."
Lewis-Skelly burst out laughing while Rice added: "I love that!"
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Burn joked: "He's got a point to be fair... just makes him more relaxed."
During a press conference on Tuesday, Burn also revealed he jokingly apologised to Tuchel for answering a phone call past 10pm.
“The manager FaceTimed us on Tuesday and said that they were debating calling us (me) up, and would let us know on Thursday," he said.
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“Then it got to six o’clock Thursday night, (I had) not heard anything so I said to my wife, ‘nothing’s going to happen’.
“I got a text saying ‘are you still awake’ at 10. I was like yes, straight away.
“First of all, he said I was very unprofessional for not being in bed for 10 o’clock, so I apologised for that.”
Burn has played 36 games across all competitions for Newcastle this season ahead of potentially making his England debut.
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, England, Football
Nasir Jabbar