It was complete surrender, I can’t defend it, says Bruce
STEVE BRUCE accused Newcastle of ‘complete surrender’ after a crushing defeat at Leicester left them looking serious relegation candidates with the season not yet two months old. His side produced an utterly dire performance, the lowlight of which was a dreadful tackle from Isaac Hayden on Dennis Praet shortly before half-time, earning the midfielder a straight red card. Bruce had no complaints about referee Craig Pawson’s decision — even though Hayden argued forcefully against it — but was demoralised by his team’s display. ‘It was a complete surrender, too quickly and too easily,’ said Bruce. ‘We didn’t do enough, especially in the second half, to stop the Leicester momentum. ‘It was nowhere near what is required. With 10 men, the one thing you can show is a bit of resilience, determination, fight, courage. ‘It was a poor second goal and a wicked deflection for the third but we didn’t do enough to try to put anything right. ‘We haven’t shown enough resilience, and that’s the disappointing thing for me as I sit here as it’s the only thing I really, genuinely demand — that they play in a certain way, which unfortunately we didn’t see today. ‘Too many felt sorry for themselves. Yes, we made mistakes and we were badly punished, but to react in that way was the disappointment for me, the players and the travelling support. ‘We need to give the fans something to shout about, to see a team play with a bit of determination, passion and heart, before we talk about tactics and football ability. That needs to be a given. ‘Unfortunately today I can’t defend it. I accept the responsibility because it’s as bad an afternoon as I can remember. The whole lot of them were nowhere near what is required to make a fist of it in the Premier League.’ Newcastle have five points from seven matches, and with only Watford below them in the table, former manager Graeme Souness believes the future is bleak. ‘The players did throw the towel in,’ said Souness on Sky Sports. ‘They were getting bullied. They lost their way in the game. When you concede goals like that, that’s a recipe for one thing — you are going down.’ The 5-0 win was Leicester’s widest margin of victory in the Premier League era and took them up to third, but Brendan Rodgers stopped short of saying his side were now challengers to Liverpool — who they face on Saturday — and Manchester City. ‘The top two teams are at a really high level,’ he said. ‘Our job is to be as competitive as we can and let’s see where it takes us. The aim when I came was to bring European football and it was a challenge I wanted.’