This Tyne it’s all down to me

BRUCE TAKES THE BLAME FOR TOON SLIPPING INTO RELEGATION BATTLE

STEVE BRUCE has taken responsibility for Newcastle’s slump into a relegation battle, conceding: “The buck stops with me.”

The Newcastle boss goes into two key games – Aston Villa tonight and Brighton a week tomorrow – with owner Mike Ashley sticking with him despite just two wins in the past 18 matches.

It was five years yesterday that Rafa Benitez was appointed boss, succeeding sacked Steve McClaren with 10 games to go of an ultimately unsuccessful fight against the drop.

Now Bruce is also in a fight for survival.

At the start of the season he targeted a top 10 finish but reckons that was derailed in December by Toon being the first club hit by a Covid outbreak, then injuries to their top three strikers, Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron.

That trio could be back after the international break and Bruce said: “The buck stops with me. I understand that. The top 10 was because we finished 13th and wanted to improve on what we accomplished last year.

“With the problems we have had, when I analyse the season, we were going along very nicely until Covid hit. Then the injuries to our big players have been a real big problem to handle. That is what it is. That’s what we’ve been dealt with.

“I don’t think that is an excuse. We still have an opportunity to climb up the table and finish where we finished last year.

“I think all of us would accept that, take it now. It’s not what we set out to be but it is the way we are at the minute.”

Ashley (below) appears to have decided to stick with Bruce, but Newcastle’s position has become more perilous as third bottom Fulham have narrowed a 10-point gap to a single point. The teams meet at Craven Cottage on the final day of the season.

Bruce said: “There is no doubt they’ve had a good couple of weeks and an outstanding result at Liverpool. All the bottom six or seven are nervously looking over their shoulder.

“They’ve closed the gap but there is a long way to go.

“You lose more than you win in the bottom half. You have to keep the spirit going. We’ve invested all our money at the top of the pitch in quality and want to draw every bit of it.

“Without the three we invested in for their creativity, we will miss it. It’s been particularly cruel.”