Bruce: No excuses for Magpies slump
STEVE BRUCE has admitted the buck stops with him as Newcastle attempt to scrap their way out of Premier League relegation trouble.
The Magpies began the campaign expecting to build upon last season’s 13th-place finish by aiming for the top half of the table, but they head into tonight’s battle with Aston Villa just a point above the drop zone.
Asked if he accepts responsibility for that, Bruce said: ‘Look, I’ve said it many, many times: the buck stops with me, I understand that totally.
‘The top ten (aim) was because we finished 13th and we would like to improve on what we accomplished last year. Certainly when I analyse the season – and now is not the particular time – but we were going along very,
We were going along very nicely until Covid hit and our big players got injured
very nicely until Covid hit and then the injuries to our big players has been a real, big problem to handle.
‘That’s what it is, that’s what we’ve been dealt, I don’t think people want to use that as an excuse. We’ve still got an opportunity to climb the table and finish somewhere near where we finished last year.
‘I think we would take that now. It’s not where we set out to be, but that’s the way it is at the minute.’
Victory over Villa, who will once again be without star man Jack Grealish, would ease Newcastle’s relegation fears but anything else would leave alarm bells ringing louder than ever.
Bruce added: ‘We don’t want to be down there, we simply haven’t won enough football matches not to be. It’s quite simple: we have to understand what’s before us and get enough points to make sure we stay here.’