Sam Allardyce believes Newcastle fans are wrong to turn on Steve Bruce

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Former Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce has defended Steve Bruce and claimed that fans should give him more time.

Sam Allardyce spoke to TalkSPORT about Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce after the Magpies’ humiliating defeat at the hands of Leicester City on Sunday.

Isaac Hayden’s red card in the first half proved to be fatal for Newcastle who capitulated after the break. The Foxes ran riot, scoring five past Martin Dubravka which has put Bruce’s job under more scrutiny by the fans than he already was.

The Magpies have just won one of their first seven games which sees them stuck in 19th place. However, Allardyce has come to Bruce’s defence despite the underwhelming start to the campaign by claiming that he has had a better start than Rafa Benitez did last season.

“To blame Bruce just yet is a long way off as he has only just arrived,” he said.

“Steve will be sleeping very restlessly at the moment. It is going to be a tough one up to maybe Christmas.

“But, in saying that, we have got to look at the situation and say he has got more points than Rafa had this time last year. I still don’t know why Steve is getting stick. Rafa didn’t get stick but Steve is. I just don’t understand it.”

Newcastle had a shocking start to last season as well and that was arguably a lot worse than this term. Rafa Benitez’s side managed three draws and seven losses in their first 10 games last season but the Spaniard’s brilliance got them out of danger and helped them stay in the Premier League.

Allardyce’s claims make sense considering how important fans’ backing is. Benitez had the full support of the Toon which certainly had a positive effect as he began to turn the things around in late October. Bruce’s side already have a big scalp in Tottenham and their performances in their draws have been impressive.

However, a 5-0 loss will bring in criticism for any team in the league and if Bruce cannot manage to turn things around in the very near future, he might be shown the door well before Christmas.

Allardyce was asked if he was glad he didn’t take the Newcastle job when it was offered in the summer, to which he said: “Having watched yesterday, absolutely yes.”