SORE POINT
Bruce insists Toon aren’t in a relegation scrap but he needs more goals and wins from his strugglers
STEVE BRUCE admits he needs wins and goals f rom hi s Newcastle strugglers quickly – but denies they are being sucked into a relegation fight.
And the Toon manager insists he can “see the positives” despite ending a tough run of fixtures without a victory in seven games.
They have included five defeats, and the misfiring attack has managed just one goal in eight hours of play. It’s one goal in 10 hours from open play.
This evening Newcastle visit Sheffield United, who are winless in the Premier League but buoyed by their first victory in 22 games after progressing in the FA Cup with a 3- 2 success at Bristol Rovers. Asked about building pressure, Bruce said: “If you manage in the Premier League you are under pressure, it doesn’t matter who you are.
“I have been in it a long, long time and it is all based on results. We all have to get them quickly.”
Asked if the season had become a relegation battle, he added: “At the moment we have got a healthy cushion f rom the bottom three. If we were in the bottom three I would say maybe.
“But we knew this was going to be a tough run of fixtures. They don’t come any tougher than we have had over the last four games.
“So, we are in that run where we have to get out of it on Tuesday. The way the players have gone about their work has pleased me.
“We have had Man City, Liverpool, Leicester. That is the Premier League. I take the positives. Arsenal didn’ t beat us in 90 minutes, Liverpool too. We have to be ready for the next challenge.”
Leading scorer Call um Wilson missed the FA Cup trip to Arsenal because of an unspecified “precaution”.
He has eight goals so far and has propped up the season. The next top scorer is Jeff Hendrick with two.
No one else in the £ 80million strike force – Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint- Maximin – has managed more than one goal each.
Newcastle have the third- worst rate of creating big chances in the top f light.
Bruce said: “Rather than sitting deep and playing off a low block we want to get higher up the pitch. That is always the difficult part.
“To win a game you have to score a couple. We had chances against Arsenal, that is the positive for me. We are trying something different.”
After a gruelling 120- minute Cup tie at the Emirates, Bruce will bring in fresh players including Karl Darlow, Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar, while Ryan Fraser is fit again. It remains to be see if Wilson and Jonjo Shelvey are available.
Jamaal Lascelles ( left) is likely to be a sub after struggling on his first game back since Covid and “out on his feet” by half time at Arsenal.