Bruce is quietly confident that Newcastle will evade the drop
Steve Bruce has reiterated his view on Newcastle United’s survival hopes after the club’s latest defeat.
The 17th-placed club was beaten 3-1 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday evening – and Bruce's side remain just three points above the drop zone.
Third-bottom Fulham have narrowed the gap over the past fortnight, and Scott Parker and his players are increasingly confident that they can catch Newcastle United.
Asked for his view on the club’s position, Bruce said: “There are six or seven teams in and around it with 13 games to go.
"I’m sure there’s a few looking over their shoulder, and, of course, we’re one (of them).
"I’m still quietly confident we’ll be fine if we keep performing like we did for the first hour.
"It was always going to be difficult going to Chelsea away and then Man United away.
"I’ve been pleased with certain aspects of us.
Bruce felt that the loss of Joelinton, recalled to the starting XI in place of Dwight Gayle, to injury in the 55th minute, when the score was level at 1-1, changed the course of the game.
"The big turning point for me was the loss of big Joe,” said Newcastle’s head coach, who is already without main
striker Callum Wilson.
“We were already without our main centre-forward, so we hope he's not too serious.
"It’s a groin problem, so we’re not quite sure yet, and he’s not quite sure. It’s difficult.”
Bruce, second-favourite to become the next Premier League manager to leave his post, was asked about fan sentiment on Tyneside.
“Of course, they don’t want to see their team at the wrong end of the table,” said Bruce, who has come in for heavy criticism in recent months.
“I understand that totally. The one thing we’ve got is a unique fan base which makes us the club we’ve got. Of course, they’re anxious.
"As I’ve said I’m quietly confident, if we keep performing like that for the first hour in particular, I’m still confident that we’ll be fine and avoid relegation.”
Newcastle’s next game is against 11th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James’s Park on Saturday afternoon.
As far as weeks go this past one hasn’t been too bad, has it? It’s definitely been one of the most positive in Sunderland’s, well, recent history – have we finally seen a turning point?
The arrival of Kyril LouisDreyfus has certainly got the fans excited and it would seem the team are also thriving on this new positivity.
After putting Doncaster to the sword quite comfortably last weekend, Sunderland saw off Lincoln to give themselves another Wembley venture. An away trip to bogey team Burton Albion presented the opportunity to finish the week off with a real bang.
Despite the league standings, Burton have had a big turnaround of form under new manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, so this appeared to be another tricky trip to the Pirelli, and Lee Johnson had subsequently said he was worried about it.
Due to injuries, the manager surprisingly sprung a 3-4-3 formation for Saturday’s game.
However, if anyone doubted how the team would fare in this formation, that question was swiftly answered after just five minutes.
Midweek spot-kick hero, Grant Leadbitter, got the team off to a flying start, once again showing great composure to slot home from the edge of the box after some quick thinking from Aiden McGeady. Phil Parkinson must be looking on pondering.
It set the tone for the game and gave Sunderland real impetus to control the opening periods. It was no surprise at all to then see Lynden Gooch fire home the second 25 minutes later, giving Sunderland a deserved two goal cushion at half time.
The beauty of getting out of the blocks so quickly on Saturday, was that it enabled Johnson the chance to make early changes in the second half. This will hopefully preserve a freshness within the squad by giving rest time to some, while simultaneously giving others valuable minutes from the bench.
Again, Jordon Jones came on and looked sharp as a tack.
He showed us what he can do by teeing up Charlie Wyke for his (inevitable) goal. Wyke, again, impressed and will probably be gutted he didn’t get a couple. I think the fact his early miss didn’t affect him when he went through on goal showed exactly where his self belief is at the moment.
I said in last week’s column that I felt something has changed in this squad for the better, and after everything I have seen since then, both on and off the pitch, I feel even more confident that some good times are coming back.
The apparent ease of Saturday’s victory was hugely comforting.
The formula of this league means the games are coming thick and fast. This newly found confidence will mean that the players will be looking at the teams above them in the division and genuinely believing they can catch them. I think that they can too, but there will be little room for error.
Currently, there seems a real togetherness in the squad, management staff included, and that will be huge going into the next 18 games. The Football League Trophy and promotion double has to be the aim now.
I don’t want to get too carried away, but the form of the team makes you think it would be a brave man to bet against this happening.