Mark Lawrenson has given his take on Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce on BBC Sport.
The Liverpool legend, who now works as a pundit for BBC Sport, has said that he has sympathy with Newcastle manager Steve Bruce.
Lawrenson has said that the Magpies did not look good going on the attack against Sheffield United in their last game, but he believes that Bruce should be cut some slack.
Some Newcastle fans are frustrated with Bruce for the negative football that the team are playing at the moment..
Lawrenson wrote on BBC Sport: “Newcastle are on a bad run of eight games without a win, and they are not playing well either. The Magpies are quite a negative team at the best of times, but they have not been creating very much recently.
“They were awful in the first half of Tuesday’s defeat by Sheffield United, and it feels like if you score first against them, they don’t really know what to do.
“They have not offered much going forward, so I totally understand why their fans are frustrated, but I do have some sympathy for Newcastle boss Steve Bruce.
“When Bruce got the job in July 2019, his remit was to keep Newcastle in the Premier League. That hasn’t changed, so you have to look at how he is doing from that perspective.”
Need to do better
Newcastle do not have one of the best squads in the Premier League, and it is likely that they will end up in mid-table.
However, it is clear that Bruce’s team need to do better, especially in attack. Newcastle have scored just 18 goals in 17 Premier League matches, and that is simply not good enough.
The Magpies have actually found the back of the opposition net fewer than Brighton and Hove Albion, who are below them in the league table (although they have played a game more).
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
