There just isn’t room for them all now – Bruce

STEVE Bruce admits he would have “loved” to have had Matty Longstaff, Yoshinori Muto and Christian Atsu on the bench against Bournemouth – but the Newcastle United head coach was unable to name the trio among his substitutes because the Magpies could “only bring so many players.”

The Toon’s trip to the Vitality Stadium was their first away day since football restarted behind closed doors last month and the club hired a bigger plane so players and staff could adhere to social distancing rules.

While the players have been more susceptible to muscle injuries after such a long break, Newcastle have had the vast majority of their squad fit for the packed run-in.As a result, with only nine places available on the bench, Bruce could not even name Longstaff Muto and Atsu in his squad for the Magpies’ 4-1 win on the South Coast.

When it came to Longstaff, Bruce was asked if the midfielder’s omission had anything to do with the fact he was entering the final weeks of his contract.

The Toon head coach replied: “No, not at all.

“It was just the fact we took 19 players so unfortunately Matty’s missed out.

“I hope we can still resolve it with the kid and see what develops but I left Muto at home. I have left Atsu at home.

“Because of the squad numbers and the plane and the coaches, you can only bring so many players.

“I would have loved to have brought them all but it was not possible.”

Longstaff came on for the final 10 minutes against Manchester City on Sunday but Atsu and Muto have yet to feature in any of Newcastle’s four games since the season got back under way.

It is usually tough to hear what is being said when there is a blaring PA system in operation and a big crowd at Premier League grounds.

Make no mistake, the sooner fans are back through the gates the better.

However, from the outset against Bournemouth you discovered how determined this Newcastle side really was.

Even in the warm-up Jamaal Lascelles demanded concentration when shouting: “Come on boys, let’s focus”

From there on in, no stone was left unturned in the final preparations for this game.

Coach Steve Agnew called the players into a huddle to make a few quick points and then worked with centre-backs Lascelles and Federico Fernandez on sharpness.

That focus continued into the game as Newcastle showed they are far from a side who look like they are “on the beach” or have their “flip

Forget what month we are supposed to be in, after 32 games last season Newcastle sat on 35 points. At the same point, they now find themselves on 42 points and are in their best shape with six games left in more than half a decade. This is not a comparison between former boss Rafa Benitez and Bruce but simply an indication on how the year-onyear growth of the squad is a positive thing. Against all the odds Newcastle could be heading for a strong finish this season. The third successive away win in the Premier League was the first time United had achieved such a feat since Alan Pardew in 2014.

Lazaro has another month left on Tyneside before he returns to Inter Milan.

There is no doubt that in a perfect world Lazaro wants to be a hit in Serie A with the former Champions League winners.

However, he is not guaranteed game time with Inter – hence the reason he is on loan with United.

At times Lazaro looked unstoppable against Bournemouth after rounding Aaron Ramsdale to score a wonderful fourth goal and then cracking the bar to almost net a second.

He needs a run in the team but with six games left that might not be possible.

Given there is a tough window coming up, where prices may not represent true value, it is a decision Newcastle need to come to very quickly.

Would you pay £20 million for the Austria international?

At times Lazaro looked unstoppable ... after scoring a wonderful goal and then cracking the bar to almost net a second