Bruce gives his view on Hendrick's dismissal against Saints

Steve Bruce has given his view on Jeff Hendrick’s dismissal.

The Newcastle United midfielder was sent off in Saturday’s hard-fought 3-2 win over Southampton at St James’s Park – and he will miss the club’s next game through suspension.

Bruce’s side were reduced to 10 men after Hendrick was shown a second yellow card for a tug on the shirt of goalscorer Takumi

Minamino.

Newcastle ended the game with nine men after Fabian Schar was forced off with a knee injury after Bruce had made a third change.

"Jeff will know better,” said head coach Bruce.

"I haven't seen it back. He'll know that he's committed a silly foul, and probably knows it straight away.

"It caused us a difficult afternoon. Certainly, he'll be disappointed."

Bruce – who has sidelined Sean and Matty Longstaff in recent weeks – has kept faith with Hendrick despite a series of underwhelming performances.

The 29-year-old joined as a free agent last summer.

Matty was left out of Newcastle’s squad for the victory over Southampton.

However, neither Longstaff,

nor his elder brother Sean, are on the bench at St James’s Park.

Meanwhile, West Ham United are reportedly targeting a summer move for Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong.

The former Newcastle United youngster has netted 17 goals in 25 games for Rovers in the Championship so far this season and only sits behind another Magpies forward, Ivan Toney, in the race for the division’s golden boot.

Armstrong made 21 appearances for Newcastle between 2014 and 2016 but failed to score a goal before joining Blackburn permanently in 2018.

According to reports in The Sun, West Ham boss David Moyes is tracking the 23-year-old Geordie after considering an £8 million bid in January.

Rovers reportedly want in excess of £10 million for their top scorer, who is also attracting interest from the likes of Fulham and Everton.

The Hammers will consider making a move for Armstrong in the summer following further scouting and Rovers are likely to cashin on the striker should they fail to gain promotion back to the Premier League after a nine year absence.