WHY ALLOW BRUCE TO SOUR MOOD?

STEVE BrucE would be sacked this week, we were told. Newcastle united’s new owners had realised how his presence could have a negative impact during their first game at home to Spurs on Sunday.

Sources say that opinion has not changed. Yet here we are and Bruce remains, even scheduled to speak to the media this afternoon.

Players are confused, it is said, and want clarity. Many of them want a change of manager but, more so, they want their first win of the season. If Bruce is going to be in charge, they should be told.

The club’s followers had hoped Amanda Staveley and the Saudi-led consortium would be more decisive over what ranks as their No1 priority right now.

Fans want Sunday to be the celebration of a new era. It still will be — nothing will detract from the scenes anticipated ahead of kickoff. But they also want to venture to St James’ Park free of feelings of animosity and resentment towards those in positions of seniority at their club.

The prospect of Bruce being on the touchline, therefore, is troubling for supporters.

It is not that they will boo him from the off — as they have done at some matches this season — but if Newcastle go behind, there is a danger the crowd will turn on Bruce. They will be loath to do so because Sunday, for them, is not about vitriol.

They want to show the world what united and re-energised support sounds like. But with Bruce there, one or two notes might sound a little flat.

Their motivation in calling for the head coach to go has been a belief that the team would fare better for his removal. He is a cause of division — be that with the fanbase, media or even some within his own dressing room.

The new owners — certainly those on the ground on Tyneside this week — are aware of the strength of feeling against Bruce. One senior figure inside the club has also warned of the need to make an immediate change. Everyone, it seems, is on the same page. Even Bruce (left) said he expects the sack. But for it not to happen by now has dampened the mood. It will be awkward if, come 1.30pm today, it is Bruce facing the questions.

This press conference was always going to be about the future. We never imagined that Bruce’s future would be the talking point. Jonjo Shelvey, in an interview with Sportsmail on Wednesday, remains the only figure from within the club to have spoken about the excitement that the takeover brings. That should have marked the start of a week of positivity.

How can Bruce be the man the new regime presents to the world when we are led to believe he has no part in their plans? It feels wrong. There is every chance a wave of euphoria will carry Newcastle to victory against Spurs, regardless of whether it’s Steve Bruce or Fiona Bruce in the dugout.

It is just that, much like those relics on Fiona’s Antiques Roadshow, the Toon Army had hoped Steve would be a thing of the past.