Bruce happy to have Saint-Maximin back

Steve Bruce was “encouraged”, in particular, by one thing at Villa Park.

Newcastle United were beaten 2-0 by Aston Villa on Saturday night – and the defeat heightened relegation fears on Tyneside.

Bruce, however, was heartened by Allan SaintMaximin’s late cameo after a two-month absence.

Saint-Maximin – who has recovered from Covid-19

– was sent on with Ryan Fraser, who was back from a one-game suspension following his dismissal against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane last week.

The wingers lifted the team, without a win in 10 games, for the final 20 minutes, but they couldn’t force a breakthrough.

“I was encouraged to see Allan and Ryan back on the pitch,” said head coach Bruce.

“I’ve never been able to play them all season.

"They’ll certainly help us going forward. We saw glimpses of it, but obviously it was only very sparse, because they were only on the pitch for 25 minutes. But that was encouraging.

“I know this group of players are capable. We’ve done it before. We’ve had a particularly tough times in terms of illness and injuries, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Allan and Ryan in tandem.

"That’s the encouraging part. Let’s hope they can stay fit and healthy, and if they do that, then I’m absolutely convinced we’ll be OK.

“As we’ve said all along, that’s the difficult part of the Premier League – to create and score a goal. I was encouraged, because those two coming on to the pitch, I know will make us better."

Allan Saint-Maximin vies with Trezeguet at Villa Park.