Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has defended his side’s ability to focus on their tasks and ‘shut the noise out’ despite another difficult season behind the scenes at St. James’ Park.
Indeed, even aside from the COVID-19 pandemic preventing fans from going into stadiums and causing the footballing calendar to compress in a way we’ve never seen before, it’s been a strange year for the club. With a takeover so strongly linked in the spring and ultimately falling through, the Toon Army have been in a state of limbo for much of 2020.
Perhaps with that in mind, Bruce has praised his players for simply getting on with their jobs and helping the club enjoy their best start to a season since 2011.
Will Steve Bruce last the season?
Yes
No
“They have a really decent spirit amongst them, they have been here a few years a few of them”, he said with quotes sourced by the Chronicle.
“It was pretty evident again.
“They get questioned now and again.
“But they have the ability to roll up their sleeves and shut the noise out.”
Arguably, no game sums this Toon side up better than the unlikely draw with Tottenham in September. Battered by Spurs attack after Spurs attack, Karl Darlow kept them in the game by making eleven saves and ensuring the home side could only take a one goal lead.
Luckily handed a penalty by a controversial handball decision against Eric Dier in the dying embers of the game, Callum Wilson efficiently slotted home to win Newcastle a point. Despite playing poorly, they managed to get something.
With many of these players having played together for a while, the team spirit does at least appear to be good at St. James’ Park and that’s certainly something we’ve not always been able to say.