Boss: My players know what this game means
STEVE Bruce insists his players understand exactly what is at stake at Brentford tonight ahead of a season-defining clash at the Community Stadium.
Not since 1976 have Newcastle played in the last four of the League Cup when the Magpies made it through to the final to face Manchester City at Wembley.
Back then Bruce was a ball boy beneath the famous twin towers but was left heartbroken as City won 2-1.
United have not come this close to a semi-final since 2016 when they were beaten on penalties by Hull.
The club’s last semi-final appearance of any sort came when Graeme Souness guided Newcastle to the FA Cup’s last four - only to be thumped 4-1 by Manchester United in Cardiff.
Now Bruce hopes the club’s long-serving core group can help make it a night to remember.
He said: “This team, the vast majority of it, has been here years.
“So I think the players do grasp it. I think they grasp how important it is for sure.
“They will do everything they can to get through. It is a great opportunity and one not to give up.
“I don’t know how many of them have won through to a semi-final but I would guess there are not many.
“They have a wonderful opportunity now for their career and when they look back on their careers they will think of the big games they played in. in Can we reach a semi-final - that is why we play football.”
Bruce goes into the game under pressure from fans after taking just one point from clashes with two newly-promoted sides in Leeds and Fulham. In his pre-match press conference he reflected: “I always expected it to be tough - why wouldn’t it be?
“People like Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish rang me to tell me how tough the job is. “Did I just think I was going to come here and wave a magic wand? “I always knew it was going to be tough. That is what the job is.
“If I can take the club to a semifinal great but we have to play better than we have in the last week.”
One of the positives of Bruce’s stint as boss has been to restore playing strong sides in the domestic cups.
This will be Newcastle’s second quarter-final appearance in the space of six months after reaching the last eight of the FA Cup last term.
Bruce added: “As I have said from day one, I understand what a cup success would mean to the city of Newcastle.
“We have taken it seriously and I am looking forward to the challenge.
“Can we get to the semi-final which would be wonderful for a club of our stature? We will try our best.
“Whatever has gone on in the past, I am only concentrating on what has happened in the last week.”