Steve Bruce has reminded his critics that Newcastle United are a club who expect to be in the bottom half of the Premier League and insisted that the team have progressed under his management.
The Magpies boss has been forced to answer questions about his future this week after a lame 1-0 defeat at Brentford on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
But Bruce, whose side are 12th in the table with 18 points, says expectations should not be forgotten when it comes to analysing Newcastle’s season.