Andy Carroll and Fabian Schar engaged in a cheeky dig towards former Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce on Instagram.

Bruce, who was in charge of the Magpies from 2019-2021, was the subject of defender Schar’s swipe with a ‘lips are sealed’ emoji after Carroll quipped that he was ‘benched’ by the previous manager.

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Schar joined Newcastle United in 2018[/caption]

Just weeks after Newcastle’s historic Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool at Wembley, Carroll commented on Schar’s Instagram post following their 3-0 win at Leicester in the Premier League, which referenced his assist for their second goal.

The Swiss star shared some photos from the game with the caption: “Professional performance from the boys! On a plate for you @jacobmurphy95.”

Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll commented below the photo, ‘And Brucey benched you’ followed by a ‘can’t-look’ emoji.

The exchange comes just weeks after another of Bruce’s former players, Dwight Gayle, publicly criticised the ex-Toon boss on the Open Goal podcast.

Gayle accused Bruce of lacking tactical direction during his tenure and recalled a series of incidents that left players frustrated.

“I felt that he didn’t spend enough time working on a lot of things with us,” Gayle said.

“Perhaps he was trying to go game by game rather than developing us as a team. I think we could’ve improved a lot of things.

“I remember some of the boys got chucked into the Man City shift. We had a three-game week and the gaffer chucked some of the boys under the bus in terms of who had to play Man City away.

“Me and Matt Ritchie were asking for tactical improvements for weeks, months.

“We came in at half-time and we were two or three down, and he was like, ‘boys, you keep asking for tactics, I don’t do tactics; just put your boots on and work hard’.”

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Schar hit the crossbar from inside his own half but Jacob Murphy converted the rebound to fire his side ahead against Leicester[/caption]

Bruce hit back at Gayle, questioning his credentials and pointing to a glaring miss the striker had against Manchester City in 2020.

But he then apologised for his X-rated response on talkSPORT, although he did admit the pair found it hard to get along.

Now, Carroll’s comments fan the flames of another war of words.

Schar’s place in the team was far from guaranteed during Bruce’s spell in charge, with Ciaran Clark, Federico Fernandez, and Jamaal Lascelles often picked ahead of him.

In fact, Schar made just 48 appearances under Bruce, compared to 146 with Eddie Howe in charge.

It wasn’t until Howe’s arrival in late 2021 that the Switzerland international returned to prominence, playing a key role in the team’s resurgence and recently signing a one-year extension.

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Fabian Schar has been a key figure in Newcastle’s squad this season[/caption]

Reflecting on his time under Bruce, Schar has previously spoken of his desire to leave the club before rediscovering his passion under Howe.

“It’s been a huge turnaround, I think,” he told the club last season in a matchday programme interview.

“Not just for me, for everyone, when you see where we have been and where we are now. But for me personally, obviously, there were times when I didn’t want to not come in.

“I couldn’t see myself long-term here, to be honest, because I didn’t get any trust from the managers – or the things that happened here. But since a year, since the new owners, since the manager, everything completely changed.

“I’m so happy for myself that I’m in this position now, being in the team, playing games, and the team’s doing well. I appreciate it a lot.”

Bruce led Newcastle for two years without silverware until their Saudi takeover in 2021.

He left with a 27.4 per cent win percentage from 84 league fixtures with the side, the ninth best in comparison to previous managers of Newcastle.

Bruce currently manages League One side Blackpool, having taken over in September 2024 following an 18-month stint with West Bromwich Albion.