‘ THAT WAS SO HARSH’

STEVE BRUCE has sparked anger by claiming the defeat by Manchester United was “harsh”.

The Newcastle manager is facing more grumbles from a section of disgruntled Toon fans after the late “collapse” at home.

Bruce was encouraged by Newcastle “staying in the game” until the visitors scored three goals from the 86th minute onwards.

Toon fans are frustrated about containment tactics but Newcastle would have taken the lead for a second time if not for a brilliant save from David De Gea to keep out Callum Wilson.

Bruce said: “The defeat looks worse than it really was. It is harsh to concede four. We were a bit naive, chasing it and leaving ourselves exposed.

“We stuck at it and stayed in the game. The turning point was De Gea’s save.

“To get beat 4- 1 does not give a true reflection of the first 85 minutes. We will go away really, really disappointed.” Defender Emil Krafth said: “We played a good game until 86 minutes, then just collapsed in the last minutes. We were running around trying to chase the ball.”