Steve Bruce has revealed he was philosophical in his dressing room discussion after the defeat at Manchester United. Newcastle were 4-1 down with 51 minutes on the clock, but Bruce shared the dressing room talk about how pleased he was with the way his side refused to crumble for the rest of the second half and prevented a horrific scoreline.
Steve Bruce said “I thought with their mentality they never gave up. Mistakes were made, but they played for 35 minutes or so at 4-1 down and they stuck at it. They found some resilience again. The one thing we have to learn is not to make those errors. Man United have some very good players at the top end of the pitch. They don’t usually need a hand. I know it’s Christmas but we gifted them. The way the fixtures are coming thick and fast the one thing you will find is that injuries will creep in. We won’t make that excuse, but we were four or five players down before the game. We gave ourselves a chance at Man United in the first half an hour but didn’t capitalize”
Steve Bruce was frustrated on the return to his old club on Boxing Day, but could at least take some encouragement out of Matty Longstaff’s opening goal and a positive opening to the game. Dwight Gayle also missed a one-on-one while Miguel Almiron threatened down the left-hand side.
Steve Bruce said: “For half an hour we were as good as we’ve been and looked a threat. We had the better chances. We then gifted them chances and it cost us the game.”
Newcastle face an Everton side who are beginning life under new manager Carlo Ancelotti.
