According to The Mirror, Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce doesn’t want to ‘throw away’ cup competitions this season, after years of disappointing exits under Rafael Benitez.
Benitez never really placed much importance on cup competitions, instead focusing all his attention on the Premier League – and that resulted in some dismal defeats.
Last season, Newcastle were beaten by Championship side Nottingham Forest in their first Carabao Cup clash. Defeat to Watford in the FA Cup last season was met with criticism over the team selection.
Other cup results under Benitez include a home exit to Nottingham Forest in a 2017 Carabao Cup tie, losing to Hull City in the same competition in 2016, and being thumped 3-0 by Oxford United in the FA Cup in 2017.
The ends somewhat justified the means as Newcastle won promotion in Benitez’s first full season, then stayed up twice in the Premier League, but Bruce doesn’t want to throw away these cup competitions, instead ensuring that Newcastle are a threat.
This may be hugely exciting for Magpies fans, as Newcastle haven’t won a domestic cup competition since 1955, haven’t been in an FA Cup final since 1999 and haven’t reached a League Cup final since 1976.
That’s a remarkable dearth of cup success for Newcastle, and fans would surely love to see Bruce guide the club into the latter stages of the cups, possibly even with some trips to Wembley.
Of course, it must be balanced with Premier League survival, and as long as Newcastle don’t suffer relegation whilst pursuing cup success, then fans will love Bruce’s plans – which are a big change from life under Benitez.
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