BRUCE’S EDGING MATT BETS

NEWCASTLE legend Rob Lee cannot quite understand how his former club are teetering on the brink of a third relegation in just over a decade.

Twenty-five years ago, Lee was a key member of Kevin Keegan’s entertainers battling it out at the top of the table alongside Manchester United and Liverpool.

Today, the Toon Army head to Burnley just three points above the drop zone and fighting for their lives.

It’s a far cry from the days when Lee, 55, and his team-mates rubbed shoulders with the elite, finishing runners-up twice and reaching successive FA Cup finals.

He said: “If someone had told me we’d be relegated twice and facing a third relegation in the two decades since I left, I’d never have believed them. It’s a sad state of affairs and it’s not a happy place.”

STEVE BRUCE has ordered bust-up midfielder Matt Ritchie to keep his narky edge.

The Newcastle boss recalled Ritchie to face Spurs last week, and he helped create the equaliser in a typically feisty performance.

Bruce says he never holds grudges when it gets heated on the training ground, despite being branded a coward.

He could call on Ritchie to lead the battle against Burnley this lunchtime and said: “He adds an edge to us. He is one of those characters, when you are up against it, he gives everything that he has got for the cause.

“Matt has played like that and had a successful career by doing that. I was delighted for him.

“One of the reasons we picked that side last week was to get the balance right. He brought something to us and played very, very well.

“I was delighted with Matty. We talk about this row. It is nothing. It was over-hyped, but I am glad that he produced the performance he’s capable of.”

Bruce has Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin

ACTION MAN: Ritchie

back in the squad, and along with Ritchie they offer a fresh threat on goal.

“Arguably they’re our best players”, said Bruce.

“Allan’s been out the best part of four months of a six, seven-month season. When you see him come on to the pitch, then you know we’re a different proposition.”

Midfielder Miguel Almiron insisted their run of relegation form – two wins in 19 league games – has not broken Bruce’s squad.

“The key is we are together and not too disheartened or desperate because we will come out of it,” he said.

“The main thing is not to give up.”