Burnley win enormous, says Bruce

NEWCASTLE United boss Steve Bruce has spoken of the “enormity” of nudging up to 32 points after beating Burnley last weekend, writes LEE RYDER.

The victory was massive in two ways as it kept Newcastle near to the Clarets in the table, but more significantly placed a six-point buffer between themselves and relegation-haunted Fulham.

The Cottagers are not finished yet but face a big task now to have a chance of taking things to the last day of the season.

Indeed, the May 23 final day fixture with the Magpies had been described as a winner takes all survival shoot-out by pundits, but Newcastle could be safe long before then if they can continue the form of the last two games.

Bruce, who will face the media today for the pre-match Press conference for the West Ham game, said: “It certainly helps and we knew the enormity of it.

“It’s about getting the points you need, whatever that total is.

“It sets us on our way, we still have a long way to go. There’s still a lot of twists and turns in my opinion because that’s what the Premier League is but it was a huge victory for us.”

Bruce has stopped trying to predict how many points will be needed to survive this season.

But the former Wigan Athletic boss knows should Fulham lose to Arsenal and Chelsea in their next two games the maximum haul Scott Parker’s side could pick up is 38 points – meaning two wins and a draw could be enough for Newcastle from their last seven matches.

Bruce added: “Whatever anybody else does there is usually a points tally to get to and we’re creeping towards that.

“Can we get there? The Premier League is so tough, to come to Burnley and win was a big result for us.”