Stop acting like you’re the VICTIM FOOTBALL
Bruce must get Newcastle’s house in order before he can demand an end to criticism
IT HAS been suggested that Steve Bruce is getting a rough ride for a manager just two games into a new job. The Newcastle head coach has said so himself.
The fact that it is just two games, however, is the aggravating factor — for how can so much appear to be in danger of unravelling so quickly? Two games is cause for scrutiny, not a reason to ignore.
The level of effort during last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Norwich was indicative of a group of players towards the very end of a manager’s reign, not the very start. That is the reason it has caused alarm.
It is a myth, too, that supporters have already turned on Bruce. They have not. At no point have Bruce or his players been jeered or derided inside the stadium. If anything, the performances have provoked apathy, not anger.
Bruce says no other manager in the country is subject to the level of scrutiny he is under at Newcastle. Perhaps he needs to ask himself why he feels there is so much attention at such an early juncture.
For remember this — if there is no confusion over the introduction of substitute Jetro Willems on the opening day against Arsenal, which pl ayed a part in t he concession of the winning goal, it is not written or spoken about.
If the team do not then lose all semblance of shape and direction and if players are not exchanging quizzical looks between themselves, it is not written or spoken about.
If the team do not go to Norwich and perform so abjectly that Bruce accuses t hem of ‘ not putting their boots on’, it is not written or spoken about.
If defender Paul Dummett does not come out and suggest he knew there was a problem among the players as early as the warm-up, it is not written or spoken about.
If Bruce does not call in the squad for training the following morning in response to the display, it is not written or spoken about.
If striker Yoshinori Muto does not reveal he felt isolated in the system at Norwich, it is not written or spoken about.
In short, get your own house in order and there is less reason for inspection.
Already it feels as if a narrative is emerging of this being an impossible job. It is not.
Bruce needs to recognise that and shut out the noise which would appear to be distracting him from the task of organising and motivating a set of players who have proved they are more than capable of competing and surviving in the Premier League. His pre-match press conference ahead of today’s trip to Spurs was dominated by talk of Michael Chopra, the former Newcastle striker who claimed on radio last week that senior players had told him they did not know their jobs on the pitch.
Bruce was angry and defended himself with some vigour. But why not simply brush it off and move on? For all of the mentions of Chopra, not once did he talk about Spurs striker Harry Kane.
He also failed to grasp that Dummett’s comments — and the coverage of them — was not a direct criticism of the mechanics of the warm- up put on by his coaches, which again, he defended with gusto. Finally, after 10 questions on the subject, he conceded that a player insinuating there was a mentality issue before kick-off was a concern.
Bruce has not suddenly become a bad manager. There is ample time for him to succeed and win the trust of players, supporters and observers.
But he cannot feel like a victim, for the scrutiny he so dislikes has largely been self-inflicted. Win or draw today and there will be praise, even an improved performance in defeat would be well received.
For contrary to what Bruce may suspect, he is being judged in isolation of the job he is doing at Newcastle. To that end, only he and his players can make life more comfortable.