The 29-year-old Frenchman sealed a season-long loan switch from Premier League side Newcastle to Spanish La Liga side Alaves last week.
Lejeune played regularly when Rafael Benitez was in charge at Newcastle, but the arrival of Bruce, coupled with injuries, reduced his league appearances to just six in the previous campaign.
Upon joining Alaves on loan, the centre-back expressed his disappointment at not being able to play as much as he wanted to at Newcastle last season and is looking forward to clocking regular game time in Spain in the 2020/21 season.
“Under Rafa Benitez, I played more at Newcastle but last year with injuries and the change in manager, I couldn’t play as much as I wanted“, Lejeune was quoted as saying by Spanish daily Marca.
“Now I needed to play and have the coach’s confidence.“
Lejeune also admitted that it felt odd for him to train with the Magpies when his transfer to Alaves was at an advanced stage last week.
“I’ve had a full pre-season with Newcastle and played some friendlies“, the defender said.
“Last week it was a bit strange to train with the team and then alone because the move to Alaves was very advanced.“
Alaves began their La Liga campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Real Betis at the weekend, with Lejeune not included in the squad.
Lejeune will be hoping to make his debut for the Spanish top-flight club against Granada this weekend and help the team secure their first win of the season.
