Newcastle United might have a new manager in place before the international break in November.
Steve Bruce was dismissed as Newcastle boss earlier this week as the relegation-threatened Magpies plot their escape from the bottom three.
United, who are 19th in the Premier League table, will be under the interim care of Bruce’s assistant, Graeme Jones, for the moment.
But the 51-year-old has just heavily hinted that a new, permanent man could be in charge before the month is out.
Speaking via The Chronicle, Jones has revealed that the club’s new owners have only asked him to take charge of two games – tomorrow’s trip to Crystal Palace and the visit of Chelsea a week later.
And if Newcastle’s hierarchy have only asked him to preside over two matches, logically it would suggest that Saudi Public Investment Fund and Amanda Staveley et al are expecting someone else to lead the team after both fixtures.
He said: “I spoke to the owners on Wednesday morning and they have asked me to take the team on an interim basis, for the next two games, Crystal Palace then Chelsea at home.”
Who is succeeding Bruce?
Well, that remains to be seen.
Jim White of talkSPORT and Sky Sport revealed on the radio yesterday that his sources revealed to him that Newcastle would be focusing on hiring an English manager with Premier League experience in the short term.
With United in danger of dropping into the Championship as things stand, survival is the club’s top priority for now and White said that a stopgap until the end of the season is on the agenda.
This, you would think, rules out Paulo Fonseca for now despite a lot of speculation about the former Roma and Shakhtar coach getting the job.
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