Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson has taken aim at former manager Steve Bruce.
Wilson reckons the summer preparations under Bruce – replaced by Eddie Howe after leaving in October – have handicapped them.
Speaking with West Ham striker Michail Antonio on the The Footballer's Football Podcast, he said: “I'd say first game of the season, we weren't fit enough in terms of being ready for a Premier League fixture
“We weren't fit enough and we weren't in the right place.
“The longer the game went on the more you overran us which probably boiled down to not being as fit as what we should have been.
“The way the game went it started turning into a basketball match.
“You attack, we attack, you attack, by the time it's the third attack I'm thinking 'Boy I can't go on that run again because I haven't got the energy.'
“Whereas you boys [West Ham} were like boom, boom, boom, keep going. That's the difference.
“The pre-season is massive for the way it sets you up for the season."
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