SM
Club Brugge vs. Aston Villa: 16 hrs 54 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
NC
EFL Cup | Fourth Round
Sep 30, 2020 at 5.30pm UK
Rodney Parade
NL

Newport
1 - 1
Newcastle

Newcastle win 5-4 on penalties
Abrahams (5')
Amond (31')
FT
(aet)
Shelvey (87')
Shelvey (16')

Steve Bruce shrugs off criticism following Newcastle draw at Tottenham

:Headline: Steve Bruce shrugs off criticism following Newcastle draw at Tottenham: ID:416441: from db_amp
The Magpies head for Newport with a Carabao Cup quarter-final place at stake.

Steve Bruce says he can take the criticism as he attempts to build a Newcastle team which plays attractive, winning football.

The 59-year-old has found himself in the firing line once again since Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Tottenham, in which Callum Wilson's controversially-awarded stoppage-time penalty was the Magpies' first shot on target a week after a dispiriting 3-0 home defeat by Brighton.

Bruce was far from a universally popular appointment as Rafael Benitez's successor and while he guided the club to a 13th-place finish last season, he knows as he prepares for Wednesday night's Carabao Cup fourth round trip to League Two Newport that his every move invites added scrutiny as a result.

He said: "What I understand now – and this is the most difficult part of all here – is that everything I do is analysed, if I make a substitution, how we play, formation, everything.

"I understand one thing: our performances against Brighton and against Tottenham were nowhere near what we are capable of.

"I accept I get criticism for that, but it's the constant, 'He doesn't know what he is doing, why has he picked this team, this is the way forward, we should be playing like this', blah blah blah. That's the difficulty.

"If you play like we did against Spurs and particularly against Brighton at home, then you're going to come in for criticism and you have to accept that.

"It's a big club, with big expectations and the criticism falls upon you. I have to be big enough to accept it and we didn't play well enough. The analysis of everything you do, that's the difficulty."

Newcastle shook off the Brighton loss by winning 7-0 at League Two Morecambe three days later and while Bruce may hope for an equally smooth passage to the quarter-finals at Rodney Parade, he knows that is unlikely.

He said: "No disrespect to Morecambe, but they (Newport) are a far better side. They've had joy in the cup, they're doing well in the league. It's a difficult place to go and play, as many people have found."

A place in the last eight, albeit via a friendly series of draws, would provide a welcome boost on Tyneside, but that would not be enough for Geordie Bruce.

He said: "I don't really look at that as an achievement. I think an achievement would be getting to a final and then ultimately if you win it, then maybe that's an achievement."

amp_article__416441 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-09-29 17:07:40:
html db last update - 2020-09-29 17:07:40 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Steve Bruce

Click here for more stories about Newcastle United

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .