If Newcastle United are relegated, it will not be down to injuries or Covid or supporter unrest. It won’t even be down to the players or owner Mike Ashley, although they are far from blame-free.
No, the buck stops with Steve Bruce. He is the manager of a squad which has more than enough quality to reside in the comfort of midtable.
To survive this season, as they should, is not a point of celebration or cause for Bruce to say he has ‘shut people up’.
The Magpies remain three points above the relegation zone after the weekend's results
That they are in this predicament is because of the coaching staff’s failure to extract anywhere near the best from the players under their charge.