Gullit delivers brutal verdict on Toon squad

NEWCASTLE’S problem lies with ‘players who earn too much money who aren’t that good’.

That is according to former Magpies boss Ruud Gullit, who sympathises with the club’s fans who ‘just want to be cheering for something important’.

Newcastle slumped to a dismal 3-0 defeat in Saturday’s relegation six-pointer against Brighton, leading for increased calls for Steve Bruce to be sacked as the club’s manager.

The no-show at the Amex Stadium extended the club’s recent dire run to just two wins in 20 matches.

Gullit knows what it is like to be a manager under pressure at St James’ Park.

Having guided the club to the 1999 FA Cup final, the wheels came off rapidly at the start of the 1999/2000 season as he ostracised a number of

Newcastle’s biggest players – including star man Alan Shearer.

It all culminated in the Dutchman losing his job in the aftermath of a 2-1 home defeat to local rivals Sunderland but, despite how it ended on Tyneside, he remains incredibly fond of the club and its supporters.

However, rather than pointing the finger of blame at Bruce for the club’s current predicament, the former AC Milan and Chelsea star feels the club’s ‘overpaid’ players are the problem.

“I had a good time even though things didn’t go as I said,” Gullit told beIN Sports when asked about his experience of managing Newcastle.

“I was the last manager who brought Newcastle to a final to win a trophy when we went to the FA Cup final.

“It is difficult but it is a fantastic club. I love the fans, I really do. I can understand they just want to be cheering for something important.

“But now all the big players want to go to London, Manchester, Liverpool so it is not easy to get the best players to Newcastle.

“There are players there who earn too much money and they are not that good.”