Bruce is safe... for now
Newcastle will not sack Bruce despite outcry from fans
Steve Bruce will not be sacked as Newcastle United manager despite a frantic day of meetings with club officials after a survey in a local newspaper suggested 95 per cent of supporters wanted him to go.
Bruce had a series of talks at the training ground yesterday, including with Lee Charnley, the managing director, but the club showed no sign of any desire to remove Bruce.
Many key figures at Newcastle are now expressing a growing belief that Bruce will stay in charge until the end of the season, while he is believed to have stressed his determination to continue despite intense and sustained criticism of him and Mike Ashley, the owner.
More than a week has passed since Newcastle were outplayed in a 3-0 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion, the team sitting directly above them in the Premier League. It left Bruce’s side fourth from bottom, two points better off than Fulham.
Bruce has thought long and hard about his position since the Brighton defeat, but is adamant he will not walk away from the fight and does not feel there is anyone who can replace him who would do a better job in the circumstances. As a result, the 60-year-old will not yield in the face of supporter and local media pressure to quit.
It is understood the impending return of top goalscorer Callum Wilson and playmaker Allan Saint-maximin have raised confidence levels. Sources close to Bruce have strenuously denied the former Manchester United captain is staying only because he is waiting for the pay-off that would come if he were sacked.
That compensation payment is thought to be about £4million, but Bruce intends to still be in charge at the start of next season, having kept them in the Premier League.
Bruce has not got things right often enough this season and, although performances had improved before the limp display at Brighton, three defeats in seven games have not been balanced enough by one win and three draws.
The mitigating circumstances of a severe Covid-19 outbreak in the autumn and injuries to key players are not persuasive enough to explain why Newcastle have allowed a 10-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone to be eroded to two.
Nevertheless, the mood at the training ground, which has taken on a siege mentality with staff trying to block the outside noise and players told to stay off social media, was said to be upbeat and determined.
The fact the Evening Chronicle conducted its survey in the aftermath of the Brighton debacle led to predictable animosity towards Bruce, with 95 per cent of the 12,000 fans who answered making their opposition to his continued employment clear.
Asked whether Newcastle would be relegated if Bruce remained in charge, 92 per cent answered yes, although 50 per cent said they did not think a change in manager would save the club from relegation.
The level of unrest was summed up by 53 per cent of people blaming Ashley for how badly things have gone this season, compared to 34 per cent pointing the finger at Bruce. The players received just 6 per cent.
Whether the situation would be different if fans were allowed inside St James’ Park is a moot point, as they are unlikely to be able to attend games until May at the earliest, by which time Newcastle’s relegation fate will have been all but decided.
Certainly, such is the level of toxicity on Tyneside, fans would have made their feelings clear long before this, with many seeing the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat by Brentford in December and the 1-0 defeat by Sheffield United in January as the tipping point.
Had fans been in the ground, it may well have forced Ashley to act and it could even have been too much for Bruce to put up with if the anger towards him had begun to affect the players on the pitch. But with matches continuing behind closed doors for the foreseeable future, there is no appetite to make a change in the dugout.